Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

"All men are created equal" since the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776, the country is chasing the idea of equality. In the short story Harrison Bergeron, author Kurt Vonnegut discuss about the effect equality to imaginary future society. Set in 2084 when all the human are finally equal in every where. Government use device like noisy earphone or heavy balls to force people equal, Harrison- the son of the Bergeron family was born with many advantages. In story the author Kurt Vonnegut use conflict, irony and setting in his lines to emphasize the point which equality in every way will harm the society, culture and the people.

Author describe the setting and background of the story in beginning, people have to wear device that make them

To make everything equal, government make people like broadcaster can’t even read the news. “It wasn’t clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcer, had a serious speech impediment. For about half a minute, and in a state of high excitement, the announcer tried to say, “ladies and gentlemen.”(Vonnegut 3) People have their job because they are good at it, but in the world of equality, no one suppose to be better than anyone, so they choose the opposite , like appointing people who have speech impediment to broadcast. It's an irony to the society and government who misunderstand the meaning of equality. Average level for the country is set to be really low, people like Harrison’s mother can’t even remember things just happened. “‘ you been crying’ he said to Hazel. ‘Yup’ she said. ‘What about?’ He said. ‘I forget,’ she said. ‘Something really sad on television.’ ‘What was it?’ He said. ‘ it's all kind of mixed up in my mind,’ said hazel. ‘ forget sad things’ said George. ‘ I always do,’ said Hazel.” It’s a part of conversation between George and Hazel. Hazel just saw her son dead on TV but after a few second, she can’t remember it after George told her to forget sad things. It was probably the best reason government believe people like Hazel is the best for average, because they always forget what's sad, what’s unfair for people and society. It’s such a irony that mother doesn’t even care and forgot about her son’s death because the government think it is the right way of living. All in all, the irony in this story really impress people’s idea about equality will distort people and