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Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

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“Harrison Bergeron” is a short story that was written in 1961 by Kurt Vonnegut. It was first published in the October issue of the “Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.” This story was not extremely popular at the time, but over the years, it grew in popularity. By the late 1980s, many high schools and colleges starting using this story in their literature books. In 1995, a movie named “Harrison Bergeron” was produced for Showtime Networks that was loosely adapted to the short story. In 2009, a short filmed named “2081” was directed by Chandler Tuttle. This film actually followed Vonnegut story very closely. This story is about a futuristic society where everyone is made into equals. The future that this story predicts is an extreme Socialist environment where the government forces everyone to be equal by putting hindrances on them that gives them a mediocrity life. Strong people are hindered by having to carry around weights, beautiful people are hindered by having to wear masks, and intelligent people are hindered by a small radio transmitter that disrupts their thoughts with noises. The Handicapper General (H-G men) is in charge of making sure everyone has proper handicaps. These handicaps are monitored and adjustments are made as needed by the H-G men. Vonnegut portrayed these men as G-men, which was a popular term during the 1940s and 1950s for referring to Federal Bureaus of Investigation or Secret Service agents. The “G” stood for government. Harrison Bergeron is the son of Hazel and George Bergeron. Hazel is considered to be a normal citizen and doesn’t have to wear any handicaps. George has to wear a radio transmitter that makes loud noises to confuse him when he has a deep thought and he also has to wear a canvas bag padlocked around his neck with forty-seven pounds of birdshot in it. Harrison is seven foot tall and claimed to be both a genius and an athlete. The Handicapper Gen

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