Harrison Bergeron - For midterm

[linnie]

I was going over Harrison Bergeron for my midterm and I am stuck in questions part. Do you know any symbolism in this story? If you answer this and connection or something like that additionally, you are a really nice person. So, do you find any?

[lukejoo1092]

I think the handicaps can be a symbol within the story. The people used handicaps to make everyone become equal. So it can be seen that it represents their desire for an equal society. The handicaps exist because they are trying to make their society equal. They believe that without them, their society will become unequal, which is what they want to prevent from happening. For me, I had something like a handicap when I was in a Korean public school. Since I had living experience in America, my English was way better than the others. So it was always expected from my classmates that I should get a perfect grade for my English tests. Although it's not something that effected me directly, I had more pressure that others which stressed me out quite a lot.

[mirim002]

well there are many symbolism. I agree with luke about one of them being a handicap. The story talks about people needing to be equal, and in order to do that, people need to be equally smart and need to have eqaully normal faces. so the handicap will make the people who are smarter than other people, have equally normal brain and mind.

[jisu25]

In this story, I always thought that the handicap was the symbol of human limits, but I didn't they make the handicaps to increase the ability of people instead of decreasing it. That way HArrison Bergeron wouldn't need to go up against the government and he might have a longer life.

[brandonina]

I agree with the fact that handicap is the main symbolism of the story but in a bit different way. I think the main theme of the story is "equal" society where things are solely based on intelligence, beauty, and strength. Remember that Kurt Vonnegut had a cynical view on the world due to variety of his (bad) experiences. He chooses to focus on handicap to symbolize the misleading factor of "equality" and trend in which people focus on trivial things such as intelligence, beauty, and etc rather than things that must be equalized, such as sexism, racism, and etc.

[JustinK.]

I think Harrison Bergeron himself symbolizes the independence and the braveness that can be found in societies today. In his situation, rebelling=death, but with his strong desire to gain or get his freedom back, he took the risk.

After he ripped off his handicaps, i felt that it reminded us again of his talents and beauty under that mask. I think this symbolizes some people today. You have talent and beauty no matter what is trying to cover you up, someone else, your low self-esteem, etc.

[nadiraamalina]

Harrison's death kinda represents how quickly society can 'kill' an idea. Especially if that idea is something that is new and unusual. If it doesn't get the support of the government, then the government will do whatever it takes to extinguish that idea.

[jungholee]

I like Nadira's idea. I agree with the thinking about harrison's death represents society killing the idea. Of course out society likes and wants people who has their own characteristic. But that doesn't mean that people can be unconventional people. they should be stay in their common sense, and the people whose out of the common sense cannot join the normal group of the people

[yeajinchoi]

I think Handicapper General presence in the story represents how there will always be evil. Even if they tried so hard in the story to make everything equal and get rid of the boundary between good and evil, HG showed that evilness will always be present.

[KevinW]

I'm gonna roll with governments. Handicapper general represents a perfectly equal society, to the point where everyone has the same opportunity and the same starting position.

Harrison Bergeron represents the perfect dictatorship—he is so much more powerful and capable than his people that there is unlikely anyone could overthrow him.

When the story was published, society then had already known what dictatorship will create. The punch, I think, comes from showing how perfect equality—the opposite of Bergeron's dictatorship—hurts.


By the way, does anyone know what are the eight questions on MS. Boyd's board?

[sazad100]

I agree with Justin. I also think that Harrison Bergeron represents independence & courage that can be found in societies.

For the connection part I can only think of Equilibrium while reading Harrison Bergeron. In both of the stories there is a leader and all the other people are made equal by handicaps but in Equilibrium's case it is the drug that acts as a handicap.

[munisa]

yeah I agree with everyone

[linnie]

Hahahaha Munisa. I agree with you too.

[bilal15]

then i agree with linnie lolzz

[sorn]

I think that Harrison himself represent something. I think the part that he broke through the handicaps and took them off was the time where symbolism was shown. It shows that our society doesn't really like to be different. People like to live safe, so they tend to follow other people. When someone is different or tries to act different from other people, they will be view by the society as something, they will become unfit and finally get discriminated by others.