The Distrust Of Government In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was alive during a time in which he saw his parents being greatly affected by the Depression. His father lost his business and his mother would later overdose on prescription pills. Kurt was also drafted and served in World War Two. During this time he was also taken as a prisoner of war. He and his fellow inmates narrowly escaped an attack on the camp. When the camp was bombed the prisoners of war were being kept in a meat locker of a slaughterhouse that was sixty feet underground. However he along with the others had to clear the bodies of the dead away for weeks. The sad and unfortunate events of his life translate into his writings quite often. I believe after serving and having such a close call with death that Vonnegut had some distrust of governments or people in power and this is clearly evident in “Harrison Bergeron”. He uses multiple literary elements to show his distrust or simply his dislike of the government through out this

His mother, Hazel is just too blissfully dumb to comprehend the scene, and his father is thrown off by the government issued radio that the law requires him to wear twenty-four hours a day. These events make the reader wonder what kind of a government would do such a thing and begins to plant a seed of distrust within us as well. These radios that the government issued broadcast noise to interrupt the thoughts of intelligent people such as Harrison’s father, George. He also introduces the Handicapper General and describes her as having a team of agents to ensure that the laws of equality are enforced. By giving a government official the name of an army general might be Vonnegut referring back to his time in the war and possibly his resentment towards his capturers during this