Vonnegut’s Political and Social Critique

Summary Vonnegut’s Political and Socia l Critique

“Harrison Bergeron” offers vigorous political and social criticisms of both America in

general and the America of the 1960s. The political system depicted in Vonnegut’s story

is distinctly American and founded on the principles of egalitarianism, which holds that

people should be equal in every way. Equality is a beloved principle enshrined in

America’s Declaration of Independence in the phrase “All men are created equal,” but

Vonnegut suggests that the ideals of egalitarianism can be dangerous if they are

interpreted too literally. If the goal of equality is taken to its logical conclusion, we may

decide that people must be forced to be equal to one another in their appearance,

behavior, and achievements. “Harrison Bergeron” can also be interpreted as a direct

critique of communism. In the 1960s, America was engaged with Russia in the Cold

War and had recently struggled through the McCarthy era, when suspected communists

were accused and blacklisted from artistic, literary, and political communities. The

futuristic American society of “Harrison Bergeron” operates on communist principles,

supporting the idea that wealth and power should be distributed equally and class

hierarchies should not exist. Like the accused communists of the McCarthy era, anyone

not conforming to society’s accepted standards—in a reversal of sorts, anyone not

adhering to the communist structure—is sought out and punished. In his story,

Vonnegut argues that such principles are foolish. It is unnatural to distribute wealth and

power equally, he suggests, and it is only by literally handicapping the best and

brightest citizens that the misguided goal of equal distribution can be attained. Similarly,

it is unnatural to seek out and punish those who reject social norms.
Some modern readers have interpreted the dystopia depicted in “Harrison Bergeron” as

a preview of what might happen to America if such trends as psychiatric drugs and

political correctness are allowed to proliferate. The characters in Vonnegut’s story are

passive, unthinking, and calm. Although the means of achieving this mental state are

externally applied to the body, rather than internally applied to the mind, some readers

draw a parallel between the noises that destroy George’s ability to think and the drugs

that make modern Americans tranquil and detached. These critics argue that the

characters in “Harrison Bergeron,” who lack all passion, intelligence, and creative ability,

should be interpreted as a warning about what happens to the members of a society

that prizes calm happiness above artistry or intelligence. Other readers see “Harrison

Bergeron” as a socially conservative argument against political correctness. Vonnegut

himself has connected the story to recent attempts to make people equal using the

language of political correctness. According to this argument, the respectful treatment of

all marginalized groups may be a slippery slope, as “Harrison Bergeron” suggests. If we

begin with the equal treatment of male athletes and their weaker female counterparts,

for example, we may end with the insistence that ugly people should be treated as if

they are beautiful, and so forth.

● Harrison Bergeron
The son of George and Hazel Bergeron. Fourteen years old and seven feet tall,
Harrison seems to be the most advanced model the human species can produce.
He is a genius who is also absurdly strong, a dancer who can also break out of
prison, and a self-proclaimed emperor. If Harrison can’t succeed in overthrowing
the government, Vonnegut suggests, no one can. Harrison’s assassination on
live television means that the last, best hope of Americans has failed and there is
no longer any chance of escaping the laws of equality.
Read an in-depth analysis of Harrison Bergeron.
● George Bergeron
Harrison’s father and Hazel’s husband. To counteract his physical strength,
George must wear weights around his neck. George, an intelligent man, must
also wear a radio that prohibits him from thinking deeply. The noises broadcast at
twenty-second intervals by this radio interfere with George’s natural tendency
toward intense thought. Despite his pensive nature, George is not bold. He
believes in obeying the law and avoiding risks. He is also emotionally barren,
urging his wife to forget her sadness and reacting to his son’s televised
adventure by going to the kitchen for a beer.
Read an in-depth analysis of George Bergeron.
● Hazel Bergeron
Harrison’s mother and George’s wife. Scatterbrained, dumb, and helpless, Hazel
is also sweet and well intentioned. For every nonsensical comment she makes
about the wonderful work the Handicapper General is doing or the commendable
effort made by the incompetents on television, she makes a kind remark to
George or sheds a few tears for her son’s plight. Hazel is characterized as an
average American.
Read an in-depth analysis of Hazel Bergeron.
● Diana Moon Glampers
The Handicapper General of the United States. Diana Moon Glampers is in
charge of dumbing down and disabling those who are above average. It is her
minions who enforce the handicap laws and create new hindrances for superior
beings such as Harrison. A woman much like Hazel, Diana Moon Glampers kills
Harrison and his empress and threatens to murder the musicians if they don’t put
on their handicaps.
● The Ballerina-Turned-Announcer
A dancer. George and Hazel can see that she is the best ballerina because she
wears an immense amount of weight. She also wears a terrible mask to cover up
what must be extreme beauty. When the announcer gives her the news to read,
 she speaks briefly in a beautiful voice before apologizing and making her voice
ugly.
● The Empress
A dancer, possibly the same character as the ballerina-turned-announcer. This
dancer becomes Harrison’s empress after he says the first woman to stand will
be his mate. After Harrison removes her mental handicap, weights, and mask,
she performs a lovely dance with him before being killed by Diana Moon
Glampers.
● The Announcer
A newscaster. The announcer has a severe speech impediment, as do all
announcers, and cannot manage to read the news about Harrison’s jailbreak.
Main Ideas
Themes
Main Ideas Themes

The Danger of Total Equality

In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut suggests that total equality is not an ideal worth

striving for, as many people believe, but a mistaken goal that is dangerous in both

execution and outcome. To achieve physical and mental equality among all Americans,

the government in Vonnegut’s story tortures its citizens. The beautiful must wear

hideous masks or disfigure themselves, the intelligent must listen to earsplitting noises

that impede their ability to think, and the graceful and strong must wear weights around

their necks at all hours of the day. The insistence on total equality seeps into the

citizens, who begin to dumb themselves down or hide their special attributes. Some

behave this way because they have internalized the government’s goals, and others

because they fear that the government will punish them severely if they display any

remarkable abilities. The outcome of this quest for equality is disastrous. America

becomes a land of cowed, stupid, slow people. Government officials murder the
extremely gifted with no fear of reprisal. Equality is more or less achieved, but at the

cost of freedom and individual achievement.

The Power of Television

Television is an immensely powerful force that sedates, rules, and terrorizes the
characters in “Harrison Bergeron.” To emphasize television’s overwhelming importance
in society, Vonnegut makes it a constant presence in his story: the entire narrative takes
place as George and Hazel sit in front of the TV. Television functions primarily as a
sedative for the masses. Hazel’s cheeks are wet with tears, but because she is
distracted by the ballerinas on the screen, she doesn’t remember why she is crying. The
government also uses television as a way of enforcing its laws. When dangerously
talented people like Harrison are on the loose, for example, the government broadcasts
warnings about them. They show a photograph of Harrison with his good looks
mutilated and his strength dissipated. The photo is a way of identifying the supposedly
dangerous escapee, but it is also a way of intimidating television viewers. It gives them
a visual example of the handicaps imposed on those who do not suppress their own
abilities. Television further turns into a means of terrorizing the citizens when Diana
Moon Glampers shoots Harrison. The live execution is an effective way of showing
viewers what will happen to those who dare to disobey the law.

Symbols
Main Ideas Symbols
Harrison Bergeron

Harrison represents the spark of defiance and individuality that still exists in some

Americans. He has none of the cowardice and passivity that characterize nearly

everyone else in the story. Rather, he is an exaggerated alpha male, a towering, brave,

breathtakingly strong man who hungers for power. When he storms into the TV studio

and announces that he is the emperor, the greatest ruler who has ever lived, he sounds

power-mad and perhaps insane. At the same time, however, his boastfulness is

exhilarating. It is an exaggerated expression of the defiant urge to excel that some

Americans still feel. When Harrison rips off his steel restraints and handicaps, the

physical strength and beauty he reveals reminds some viewers that underneath their

own restraints and handicaps, they too are still talented or lovely. But in the end,

Harrison, symbol of defiance, is killed in cold blood by Diana Moon Glampers, the

administrator of government power. The quick, efficient murder suggests that if a defiant

spirit still exists in America in 2081, its days are numbered.

Important Quotes Explained

“Good as anybody else,” said George.

“Who knows better’n I do what normal is?” said Hazel.

This passage appears near the beginning of the story. Vonnegut seems to suggest that

Hazel’s similarity to Diana Moon Glampers is disturbing because it means that the

country is being run by people just as clueless as Hazel. When George says that Hazel

is as “[g]ood as anybody else,” we get the idea that she is just as confused and
incapable of serious thought as every other average American living in the year 2081.

Hazel’s confidence in her understanding of “normal” is both funny and sinister. Her self-

confidence in understanding “normal” is amusing, especially because it comes on the

heels of her ludicrous suggestion that the government should interrupt thoughts on

Sundays with religious-sounding chimes. But it is also a disturbing and subtle reminder

that in this futuristic America, the people who run the country are in power not because

of their brains or savvy, but because of their normalcy.

2. [T]hey remained suspended in air . . . and they kissed each other for a long, long

time.

. . . . Diana Moon Glampers . . . came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge

shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit

the floor.

Harrison’s midair dance with his empress near the end of the story is the only moment

of unadulterated beauty in “Harrison Bergeron,” and its brutal conclusion suggests the

beginning of still darker days for America. Harrison is as amazing as the rest of the

world is dull. In a narrative full of stupidity, mediocrity, and terror, Harrison brings

strength and beauty into the story by removing his and the empress’s weights and

disguisess. Whereas his parents are so compromised that they can hardly put two

logical sentences together and merely sit in front of the TV like automatons, Harrison is

a whirlwind of activity. He bursts into the studio, takes control, and forces the musicians

to play lovely music instead of hackneyed tripe. His physical vigor is superhuman:

defying the laws of gravity, he manages to suspend himself and his empress thirty feet

above the ground. The long kiss he exchanges with her also provides the only moment

of sensual pleasure in the story. But Diana Moon Glampers interrupts Harrison’s dance

almost as soon as it has begun. The spare, unflinching language with which Vonnegut
narrates her murder of the emperor and empress mirrors the cold, inhuman nature of

the deed. It is clear that for all his braggadocio, Harrison never had a chance at

unseating the government for good.

Humor
Summary Humor

“Harrison Bergeron,” while full of dark themes, is also full of humor, which makes

Vonnegut’s serious message both easier to digest and more bitter. Almost every grim

event in “Harrison Bergeron” is accompanied by a sly joke or moment of melancholy

comedy. For example, the narrator explains that ballerinas are weighed down and

masked to hide their lightness and beauty. This deeply sinister image is leavened when

we learn that such measures are meant to save viewers from the pain of feeling that

they themselves look like “something the cat drug in” in comparison to the dancing

beauties on their television screens. Later, the fearful announcement about Harrison’s

escape is accompanied by a mournful joke: the announcer has a speech impediment so

bad that he must hand over the important news to a nearby ballerina so that she can

read it. In a second joke, Hazel says she thinks the incompetent announcer should get a

raise simply for trying hard. The pain of the ballerina-turned-announcer, who must hide

the loveliness of her own voice, is mitigated by Vonnegut’s description of her disguised

voice as a “grackle squawk.”

Even the most horrifying moments in the story are characterized by Vonnegut’s dark

brand of humor. We learn that Hazel, a sweet but deeply stupid woman, is very similar

to Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General of the United States. Although it’s

upsetting to discover that the country is being run by imbeciles like Hazel, it is hard not

to laugh at Hazel’s idea for using religiously themed noises on Sundays to interrupt the
thoughts of smart people like George. When Hazel and George attempt to discuss the

difference between the competitive society of yesteryear and the America they live in,

George’s respect for the laws that have crippled him is heartbreaking. But the total

breakdown of the conversation, brought about by George’s and Hazel’s inability to

remember what they were talking about mere seconds earlier, produces a comical

effect. Humor comes to the fore even after the Harrison’s murder. In a disturbing

exchange, George urges Hazel to “forget sad things” such as whatever made her cry

(neither of them seem to know that their son’s murder caused her tears). She answers

that she always does forget sad things. Just after this conversation, George is

interrupted by a noise that Hazel says sounded like a doozy. In a final bit of broad

comedy, George, agreeing, says she can say that again, and Hazel repeats her remark

verbatim. The effect is funny and a bit creepy, as the extent of the Bergerons’ lack of

self-awareness becomes fully clear.