Russell Thayer Professor Neuburger Eng.

Comp 102 10 February 2012 Essay Response Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s Harrison Bergeron is a dystopian satire, set in the year 2081. The exact meaning of the piece is ambiguous, but it appears to suggest that the fears of many people, with respect to the 1960s social upheavals, were mostly irrational and often preposterous. This is demonstrated when Vonnegut states, The rest of Harrisons appearance was Halloween and Hardware. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G Men could think them up (296). While there are many who consider this to be an allegorical expression of the dangers of Socialism, Vonnegut takes special care to immerse the piece in absurdities and remove the foundation of the story as far from reality as possible. Consider the passage, Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well (298). This abstract notion, demonstrating the abandonment of reason, parallels the wholly unsupportable and equally irrational notions of many who feared the social paradigm shift of the 1960s.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Harrison Bergeron." Power of Language - Language of Power. Vol. 2nd Custom Edition for Ozark Technical Community College. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011.293-299. Print.

169 Words

169 Words