Irony; the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Irony is a huge topic in literature, especially in “Harrison Bergeron”. In the story, their kind of equality is to have many Amendments to be equal; which is ironic in itself. Author Kurt Vonnegut writes the story “Harrison Bergeron”, which is about a socialistic society where everyone is equal with handicaps. It is set in 2081 and almost everyone has “handicaps” meaning to cover up there talents or beauty. Some “handicaps” would be masks, weights, or hearing-aids that would make people not think straight. This story shows a couple named George and Hazel Bergeron. Harrison Bergeron, their son, is a threat
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Using symbolism gives the reader an indication that something is more important or represents an idea of some kind. One example of symbolism in the story are the noises in the hearing-aids. “A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm” (1). A buzzing sound went to his brain so that he didn’t have an unfair advantage to others who weren’t as intelligent then he. Another example is after Harrison Bergeron and the ballerina were killed. A double-barreled shotgun was fired at them. Soon after the occurrence, Hazel and George forgot what happened; as to assume everyone else did as well. At the end of the story a noise goes through George’s hearing-aids, “He winced. There was the sound of a riveting gun in his head” (6). These noises symbolizes a subconscious feeling that something isn’t right. This results in an inaction for George; keeping his away from his thoughts to just clutch his head in pain. Another symbol in “Harrison Bergeron” is Harrison himself. He is defined how a society should be; he achieves impossible heights when he gets free from his handicaps, much like society would be if the rest of the handicaps were removed. “He was exactly seven feet tall” (3). Knowing how tall he is opens up the window that achieving impossible heights can happen in a society. Harrison is the perfect specimen, like a superhero, “He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, god of thunder.” (5). Because of this, Harrison represents the potential in society and how it could be better, but that gets ruined when Harrison gets shot which is the potential getting destroyed. By having these symbolic messages in the text, it give a bigger understanding of how society isn’t perfect and how innovation can be easily
Using symbolism gives the reader an indication that something is more important or represents an idea of some kind. One example of symbolism in the story are the noises in the hearing-aids. “A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm” (1). A buzzing sound went to his brain so that he didn’t have an unfair advantage to others who weren’t as intelligent then he. Another example is after Harrison Bergeron and the ballerina were killed. A double-barreled shotgun was fired at them. Soon after the occurrence, Hazel and George forgot what happened; as to assume everyone else did as well. At the end of the story a noise goes through George’s hearing-aids, “He winced. There was the sound of a riveting gun in his head” (6). These noises symbolizes a subconscious feeling that something isn’t right. This results in an inaction for George; keeping his away from his thoughts to just clutch his head in pain. Another symbol in “Harrison Bergeron” is Harrison himself. He is defined how a society should be; he achieves impossible heights when he gets free from his handicaps, much like society would be if the rest of the handicaps were removed. “He was exactly seven feet tall” (3). Knowing how tall he is opens up the window that achieving impossible heights can happen in a society. Harrison is the perfect specimen, like a superhero, “He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, god of thunder.” (5). Because of this, Harrison represents the potential in society and how it could be better, but that gets ruined when Harrison gets shot which is the potential getting destroyed. By having these symbolic messages in the text, it give a bigger understanding of how society isn’t perfect and how innovation can be easily