Harrison Bergeron - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Biography

Kurt Vonnegut was an American writer who was one of the most influential of his time. He is best known for his dark (black) comedy and his science fiction writing styles. He’s written novels such as Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five which have been great successes all over the world. He also put much of his thoughts and beliefs “secretly” into his work. He later died from old age in 2007 at the age of 84.

Symbol

This picture symbolizes the ballerina who had to wear a mask in the story.  The mask made her look ugly and not as delicate like a ballerina should look. So, I thought this picture represented that well considering that this picture makes the little girl look sad and not as pretty.

Response

What parts of the story are most exaggerated? 
What do you this was the author’s purpose in using exaggeration so extensively.

The most exaggerated part of the story was the section where they described Harrison Bergeron. They used so exaggeration to prove a point which was to show how much Harrison was higher then everyone else and why they wanted to keep him hidden from the world. So he needed to be the most “handicapped”.

What do George’s and Hazel’s reactions at the end of the story reveal about the quality of life in their society.

It shows that in their world you’re not really embracing your life. You have so many boundaries put upon you that you can’t even live. George and his wife can’t even recall memories they had or what they were just talking about and how are you supposed to live without remembering your past?

a) What is the situational irony in this story? What would you expect a society to be like in which everyone is equal?

b) What point do you think the author is making through the irony?

a) The situational irony is that Harrison ends up over throwing the authority in the end after all the work they did to keep him as equal with the other people.

b) That you should stand up for what you think is right because you never know what might happen.

What are some other books/movies you know about planned utopias that turned out the be the opposite.

I know the movie Star Trek and Logan’s Run were utopian based movies.

Critical Thinking

Why do you think the author wrote the text?

It’s a unique way of showing how the world has natural inequalities that nobody can do anything about.

What does the author want you to think?
That you can’t make everyone equal without taking away from somebody else.

Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?
I don’t think so.

Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?
No because this story could never take place in real life.

Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?
Yes it reminds me of lots of movie but no any I could think of with this type of story line.

How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?
It makes me think of all the injustices that are happening around the world. About how people are being ridiculed for just being themselves.

What action might you take from what you have learned?
That I should be more thankful to live in a free country and no take it for granted.

What big question has this text left you with?

It has left me wondering how this world would survive move on this way. And what it would be like if life was actually like this.