Essay on The Handicapper General - 803 Words

It is the year 2081. Because of Amendments 211, 212, and 213 to the Constitution, every American is fully equal, meaning that no one is stupider, uglier, weaker, or slower than anyone else. The Handicapper General and a team of agents ensure that the laws of equality are enforced. One April, fourteen-year-old Harrison Bergeron is taken away from his parents, George and Hazel, by the government. George and Hazel aren’t fully aware of the tragedy. Hazel’s lack of awareness is due to average intelligence. In 2081, those who possess average intelligence are unable to think for extended stretches of time. George can’t comprehend the tragedy because the law requires him to wear a radio twenty-four hours a day. The government broadcasts†¦show more content†¦Hazel thinks George looks exhausted and urges him to lie down and rest his â€Å"handicap bag,† forty-seven pounds of weight placed in a bag and locked around George’s neck. He says he hardly notices the weight anymore. Hazel suggests taking a few of the weights out of the bag, but he says if everyone broke the law, society would return to its old competitive ways. Hazel says she would hate that. A noise interrupts the conversation, and George can’t remember what they were talking about. On TV, an announcer with a speech impediment attempts to read a bulletin. He can’t overcome his impediment, so he hands the bulletin to a ballerina to read. Hazel commends him for working with his God-given abilities and says he should get a raise simply for trying so hard. The ballerina begins reading in her natural, beautiful voice, then apologizes and switches to a growly voice that won’t make anyone jealous. The bulletin says that Harrison has escaped from prison. A photo of Harrison appears on the screen. He is wearing the handicaps meant to counteract his strength, intelligence, and good looks. The photo shows that he is seven feet tall and covered in 300 pounds of metal. He is wearing huge earphones, rather than a small radio, and big glasses meant to blind him and give him headaches. He is also wearing a red rubber nose and black caps over his teeth. His eyebrows are shaved off. After a rumbling noise,Show MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis : The Pit And The Pendulum 1100 Words   |  5 Pagesis something all the antagonist share. They all have their own version of evil, either traditional and strict evil , or insidious and sadistic evil either way there evil is still morally wrong. Okeke is not as evil as the three Judges and Handicapper General. This is because he is not as cruel as the rest. Okeke’s punishments were not the worst possible. Nnaemeka explained to his father, Okeke, that he did not want to marry the women that was chosen for him instead he wanted to marry Nene. â€Å" HisRead MoreThe Lottery and Harrison Bergeron1100 Words   |  5 Pagesa citizen is entitled to do. In todays day and age, life without basic freedoms and rights sounds unthinkable. However, in Shirley Jacksons â€Å"The Lottery† and Kurt Vonneguts â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† this is the reality. Old Man Warner and the Handicapper General show that people in positions of authority encourage outdated traditions that ultimately lead to innocent people getting hurt. Old Man Warner, an important person in society, advocates villagers continue to participate in the dated traditionRead MoreTheme Of Harrison Bergeron806 Words   |  4 PagesNo one should change a person in anyway not even if they tried. In the beginning of â€Å"Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† is taking place in George and Hazel Bergeron’s lifes . It begins in mid April with United States Handicapper General Taking Hazels and Georges fourteen year old son, Harrison away. But so then Hazel and George couldnt think about it much it would hurt them physically. George was overly intelligent so they had puttin a little mental handicap radio in his earRead MoreSimilarities and Differences Between ‚Äà ºthe Lottery‚Äà ¹ and ‚Äà ºHarrison Bergeron‚Äà ¹950 Words   |  4 Pageshandicaps by Handicapper General. They would either boost their abilities to an average human or decrease their abilities to an average human. Even though people did not like the way Handicapper General was treating them, they did not protest against her. It is not bad to change the lifestyle if it’s for the best. â€Å"The Lottery† and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† describe how people are vulnerable to great leadership and are blinded in how it is affecting their lives. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† the Handicapper GeneralRead MoreHarrison Bergeron998 Words   |  4 Pages all to the same measure of intelligence and strength. In Harrison Bergeron the society has become apathetic and equally conformed because of the power of the Handicapper General, the forced use of handicaps, and the people within the society who continued to let themselves be controlled. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, is the person in control of this societys laws determining what handicaps people should have. She also is the enforcer of keeping these handicaps on and keepingRead MoreEssay about False Perception of Equality in Society1262 Words   |  6 Pagesthe United States Handicapper Genera1 while the country is under totalitarian control. Handicaps are forced upon the people by the Handicapper General to create an all-equal society. The character George Bergeron is forced to stay equal by the government’s laws of equality while his wife, Hazel Bergeron, is of only average intelligence, and consequently not given a handicap. Their son, however, has broken the laws of equality and is fugitive of the United States Handicapper General. The conflict betweenRead MoreSociety In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut Jr1176 Words   |  5 PagesVonnegut Jr demonstrates how the three main characters; George, Hazel and Harrison act in this new futu ristic society. We get a small glimpse of what the year 2081 will most likely be made of. This will be ruled by the agents of the United States Handicapper General. The people will be force to be equal in every way; their appearance, their intelligence, their religion, etc. We get to see people who obey the laws as well as people who want to overthrow the government. In this futuristic society, intelligenceRead MoreHarrison Bergeron Character Analysis756 Words   |  4 Pagesthe couch watching television. George is intellectually superior so every few seconds a raucous noise is played in his ear to keep him from being able to hold a consistent thought, which happens continuously throughout the story. This system of â€Å"handicappers† is overseen by a rather unsympathetic woman named Diana Moon Glampers. As George and Hazel are watching a ballet on the T.V., the show is interrupted by a bulletin warning viewers that Harrison Bergeron, George and Hazel s son, has just escaped Read MoreEquality And Diversity In Kurt Vonneguts Harrison Bergeron1263 Words   |  6 Pagesis equal in every conceivable way. When introducing the reader to this future reality Vonnegut says â€Å"All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments in the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General (Vonnegut 1).† The reader can tell this is sarcastic because America currently does not have nearly that many Amendments, and the phrase â€Å"unceasing vigilance† has an underlying sarcastic tone of its own. Two hundred and thirteen amendments isRead MoreI Am A Cripple By Nancy Mairs1420 Words   |  6 Pagesthem as â€Å"My God is not a Handicapper General† (Mairs). The Handicapper General is a character in the Harrison Bergeron story by Kurt Vonnegut. In this story, everyone is given handicaps (prep) to make every person the same. For example, if someone was really pretty, the Handicapper General would m ake that person wear a mask so they would be the same as everyone else. She implies that someone who takes away others’ good qualities by changing them, like the Handicapper General, is not needed because