1. HARRISON BERGERON
Kurt Vonneguts

2. Kurt Vonnegut
3. Kurt Vonnegut
Born: 11-Nov-1922
Birthplace: Indianapolis, IN
Died: 11-Apr-2007
Location of death: Manhattan, NY
Cause of death: Accident Fall
Remains: Buried, Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, IN
Gender: Male
Religion: Atheist
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Novelist
Nationality: United States
Executive summary:Slaughterhouse Five
Military service: US Army (1943-45)
4. Kurt Vonnegut
Combined satiric social commentary and black comedy with surrealist and science fictional elements
Common themes in his work include the dehumanization formed by technology, as well as by bureaucracy and media propaganda
5. Kurt Vonnegut
His sentences are short and easily understood so as to be largely accessible
Even the most horrifying scenes are underlined by jokes or absurdity
6. Theme
Utopia
An ideal or perfect place or state, or any visionary system of political or social perfection
Kinds: feminist utopias, ecological utopias, technological utopias, religious utopias communist utopias
The perfect societies in utopian novels are often communistic or socialistic in character
The opposite of dystopia
7. Setting
Place
America
Time
Year 2081, April 2081
Social conditions
The government enforced the laws of equality. Those who possess average intelligence are unable to think for extended periods of time while thoughts of intelligent people are interrupted by the broadcasts of the government throughsmall head radios the people wear.
8. Major Characters
Harrison Bergeron
George Bergeron
Hazel Bergeron
Diana Moon Glampers
9. Harrison Bergeron
The son of George and Hazel Bergeron
14 years old
7 ft. tall, strong, and extremely handsome but his eyebrows are shaved off and he is wearing 300 pounds of metal, huge earphones, big glasses, a red rubber nose and black caps over his teeth to counteract his strength, intelligence, and good looks
10. George Bergeron
Harrisons father and Hazels husband
Intelligent and strong, but is wearing weights around his neck and a radio that prohibits him from thinking deeply
Obeys laws and avoids risks because he fears the government
11. Hazel Bergeron
Harrisons mother and Georges wife
Scatterbrained, dumb, and a helpless average American
Sweet and well intentioned
12. Diana Moon Glampers
The Handicapper General of the United States
In charge of limiting the capacities of those who are above average
13. Plot
Exposition
Harrison Bergeron is taken away by the government with his parents not being aware of the incident. The government sends Harrison to jail since he is considered as a threat.
14. Plot
Rising Action
Hazel compliments the dance of the ballerinas on TV while George says th0se dancers are not very good because their actions are limited. A noise interrupts Georges thoughts. Hazel says she would enjoy hearing the noises that the handicappers dream up and she would be a good Handicapper General.
15. Plot
Rising Action
Before being interrupted by another noise, George thinks of Harrison. Hazel says George looks exhausted. She supposes that it is due to his handicap bag, so she suggests taking a few of the weights out of the bag. But George refuses, and says he doesnt want society to return to its old competitive ways. A noise makes them forget the conversation.
16. Plot
Climax
On TV, the ballerina, altering her voice so she wont make anyone jealous, reads a bulletin which the speech-impaired broadcaster cant announce. The bulletin says that Harrison has escaped from prison. A photo of Harrison appears on the screen.
17. Plot
Climax
After a rumbling noise, Harrison suddenly appears in the studio. He proclaims himself as the emperor then he rips off all of his handicaps. Looking like a god, he picks a ballerinawho was brave enough to stand up as his empress and promises to make the musicians royalty if they do their best.
18. Plot
Falling Action
As Harrison dances to the music and manages to defy gravity with his empress, Diana Moon Glampers comes into the studio, kills both Harrison and his empress, and threatens the musicians with a shotgun.
19. Plot
Denouement
The Bergerons TV screen goes dark. When George returns after getting a beer, he sees Hazel crying and asks why. She says she cant quite remember but something sad happened on the TV.
20. The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was any smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.
21. "Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical science fiction tale about the dark side of an ideal, utopian American society.
Nothing is clearly suggestive of negativity.
The story is told through the third-person point of view of an objective narrator
22. Symbolism
I am the Emperor! shouts Harrison Bergeron.
The chains worn by Harrison
The Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers
The death of Harrison Bergeron and the ballerina
The prominence of words like think, anybody, people, and like