Death over Equality

Death over Equality

“Give me liberty or give me death” is a famous quote said by Patrick Henry when America was fighting for its freedom and equal rights in the American Revolution, which relates to “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Where total equality is taking place in every aspect from the beauty of oneself to how intelligent one must be to fit the standards of the society, leading to death for those who don’t follow it. In the short story Kurt Vonnegut Jr. uses symbolism to create plot and theme.

The Sounds. The cruel painful sounds created by the handicap radios the civilians had to wear in the story represent events in the story in a distinctive manner. For example at the beginning “a buzzer sounded in George’s head” (Vonnegut), hinting the reader of the start of an event or the story. Further along the story as George is remembering his son Harrison when he was taken away from the “H-G men” a “twenty-one-gun salute” interfered his thoughts from the morbid memory (Vonnegut). The twenty one gun shots represent the death of a person who is honored and respected, foreshadowing Harrison’s death at the end. Also when George is remembering how society used to be and the consequences if the law was to be broken “[sirens] go off in his head] (Vonnegut), suggesting that his thoughts are being chased away by the governments police. Meaning the government controls the society in every single aspect giving the people no freedom in 2081. Another example is the “sound of a riveting gun” (Vonnegut), heard just moments after Harrison and the ballerina are murdered by the Handicapped General. Furthermore the last sound George hears in the story is the echo of a “riveting gun” (Vonnegut), representing the end of the story and of a life. The noises in the stories represent a past, present, or future event which helps intensify the story’s meaning and theme.

The main moral being portrayed by the author in “Harrison Bergeron” is equality can sometimes be dangerous and backstabbing.

Another theme in the story is courage, this is demonstrated