Harrison Bergeron is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American writer

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

, first published in October 1961. Originally published in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...

'', the story was republished in the author's ''

Welcome to the Monkey House ''Welcome to the Monkey House'' is a collection of 25 short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut, published by Delacorte in August 1968. The stories range from wartime epics to futuristic thrillers, given with satire and Vonnegut's unique edge. Th ...

'' collection in 1968.

Plot

In the year 2081, the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

dictates that all Americans are fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than anyone else. This is due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, and her agents enforce the equality laws by forcing citizens to wear " handicaps" such as ugly masks for those who are too beautiful, earpiece radios for the intelligent that broadcast irritating noises meant to disrupt thoughts, and heavy weights for the strong or athletic. George and Hazel Bergeron have a 14-year old son named Harrison. He takes after his father, who is highly intelligent and physically strong. The government removes Harrison from his home. His parents are barely aware because of Hazel's low intelligence and George's mandated handicaps. George and Hazel watch a ballet on TV one day. Some dancers are weighed down to counteract their gracefulness and masked to hide their attractiveness. George's thoughts are continually interrupted by the different noises emitted by his handicap radio. Hazel urges George to lie down and rest his "handicap bag" (which is a cloth bag filled with

birdshot A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a s ...

locked around his neck). She suggests taking a few of the weights out of the bag, but George resists because it is against the law and he will have to endure two years of prison and pay a $2,000 fine per every birdshot he takes out. On TV, a reporter with a speech impediment (like all announcers) struggles to read a bulletin and hands it to the ballerina wearing the most grotesque mask and heaviest weights. She begins reading in her natural, beautiful voice before switching to a more unpleasant one; it would be unfair for her to use such a beautiful voice. Harrison's escape from prison is announced, and a full-body photograph of him is shown upright after several tries to face it upright by the showrunners. He is tall and burdened by of handicaps. George recognizes his son for a moment, before having the thought eliminated by his radio. Harrison storms the TV studio in an attempt to overthrow the government. He declares himself

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

and rips off both of his own handicaps and those of the ballerina who previously read the news bulletin, who elects to be his empress when given the option. Bergeron then orders the present musicians within the television studio to play their best music while the two of them dance. Suddenly, the Handicapper General bursts into the studio and kills Harrison and the Empress on the spot with two shotgun blasts while they are in the middle of a long kiss. She threatens the musicians at gunpoint to put on their handicaps again before the TV goes dark. George, who left to get a beer, returns. He asks Hazel why she is crying, to which she replies that something sad happened on television that she cannot remember.

Characters

*Harrison Bergeron is the fourteen-year-old son of George Bergeron and Hazel Bergeron, who is tall, a genius, and an extraordinarily handsome, athletic, strong, and brave person. *George Bergeron is Harrison's father and Hazel's husband. A very smart and sensitive character, he is handicapped artificially by the government. *Hazel Bergeron is Harrison's mother and George's wife. Hazel has what is described as perfectly average intelligence, which means that she cannot think deeply about anything. *The Ballerina, a beautiful dancer who was burdened with an especially ugly mask and excessive weights, as she is the fairest, most beautiful and most graceful of the dancers. *Diana Moon Glampers is the Handicapper General. Vonnegut re-used the name for a character in ''

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater ''God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine'', Kurt Vonnegut's fifth novel, was published on April5, 1965, by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. A piece of Postmodern literature, postmodern satire, it gave context to Vonnegut's following nov ...

''.

Adaptations

The story has been adapted for the screen several times. *

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

adapted several stories, including ''Harrison Bergeron'', in '' Between Time and Timbuktu'' (1972), with Avind Haerum in the title role. *In 1995, Showtime produced a full-length made-for-television adaptation entitled '' Harrison Bergeron'', starring

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (; born February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Billy Tepper in '' Toy Soldiers'' (1991), Dave Morgan in '' Encino Man'' (1992), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' ...

as the title character and

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage and television. His accolades included an Academy Aw ...

as John Klaxon. The adaptation diverged from the plot considerably, featuring Harrison being recruited by the National Administration Center, a secret cabal of geniuses within the government who ensure that the handicapped United States function. Working for the television division, Harrison becomes dissatisfied with the status quo and attempts to start another American revolution by taking over the nation's television broadcasting. He broadcasts old unhandicapped movies and music, while encouraging people to remove the brain-handicapping "bands" on their heads. *In 2006, a short film also entitled ''Harrison Bergeron'' was released. *In 2009, another short film called ''

2081 In contemporary history, the third millennium is the current millennium in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 (Roman numerals, MMI) and will end on 31 December 3000 (Roman numerals, MMM ...

'' was based on the original story and starred

Armie Hammer Armand Douglas Hammer (born August 28, 1986) is an American actor. He began his acting career with guest appearances in several television series. His first leading role was as Billy Graham in the 2008 film '' Billy: The Early Years'' and Hamme ...

as Harrison Bergeron. Joe Crowe, managing editor of the online magazine ''Revolution Science Fiction'', described the movie as "stirring and dramatic" and said it "gets right to the point, and nails the adaptation in about 25 minutes." *In 2024, an acoustic adaptation of ''Harrison Bergeron'' was produced for radio and streaming audiences by audio producer and documentarian

Greg Barron Greg Rowe Barron (born June 14, 1946) is an American radio and television journalist, producer and communications executive. His early radio feature work influenced public radio storytelling in the United States and how sound is used in document ...

Cultural references

In 2005, the story was quoted by attorneys in a brief before the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as t ...

. Vonnegut was quoted as saying that while he did not mind the story being used in the suit, he disagreed with the lawyers' interpretation of it. U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

quoted the story in '' PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin''. A 2013 academic paper criticizing the new

hyperandrogenism Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterized by high levels of androgens. It is more common in women than men. Symptoms of hyperandrogenism may include acne, seborrhea, hair loss on the scalp, increased body or facial hair, and infre ...

policies of the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

and the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

was entitled "The Harrison Bergeron Olympics" and several non-academics had similar criticisms.

References

External links

Full text of ''Harrison Bergeron''
at

The Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

* * *
Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron, and an Introduction to Deviance and Social Control
A teaching-related essay by Kenneth Mentor *
Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" wins Hall of Fame.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison Bergeron 1961 short stories Bergeron, Harrison Dystopian literature Egalitarianism Fiction set in 2081 Satirical stories Science fiction short stories Short stories adapted into films Short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Short stories set in the United States Social engineering (political science) Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction