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Vonnegut’s story “Harrison Bergeron” discusses the theme equality of results, but through his satirical circumstances there is an ambiguous theme targeting Socialism and Capitalism that shines through. In the story “Harrison Bergeron”, both Socialism and Capitalism are made fun of through extended satirical references. In the story, Vonnegut’s future predicts a rise of Socialism in America. However this Socialism relates to the equality of results as appose to equality of results. Vonnegut paints this very ugly picture of Socialism despite his views against Capitalism because of the misconceptions of the American public at that time.
Hence he does not really put down Socialism but more the misconceptions of Socialism in the story. His Socialist views however are obvious in the story, especially in the way the story itself plays out and the portrayal of some key characters in the story. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General as a symbol for Socialism. He makes the Handicapper General a strong leader, one that the general population respects and strives to imitate. This is evident when Hazel says, “I think I’d make a good Handicapper General. This is Vonnegut’s way of showing that Socialist leaders too are charismatic figures that people look up to and respect. Another aspect of the story that is satirized is the absurd handicaps people have to wear in order to be ‘equal’. Vonnegut intentionally makes them seem ridiculous as a way of proving the point that the misconceptions of socialism are crazy and untrue. Although Vonnegut satirizes many aspects of Socialism, it is clear that the true target in the story is Capitalism, portrayed my none other than Harrison himself. Towards the end of the story Harrison is shot down by Ms.
Glampers, an event that shows Socialism triumphant in the face of Capitalism. This goes to show that Vonnegut believed in the Socialist system and that he saw many flaws in Capitalist America at that time. The only contrast we see in the otherwise monotonous Socialist future is through the character of Harrison himself. In the story, Harrison is considered a freak, too powerful, too smart and most of all too ambitious. Harrison represents Capitalism. His traits are extensively described in the story and directly relate to that of a Capitalist system. In the story owever, it is his traits that solely lead to his downfall, hence making them his flaws. Vonnegut describes his flaws in great depth which can possibly be interpreted as a way of disclosing what he believed was wrong with the American government. If you follow the story you immediately realize that Harrison’s plan was not well thought out. He immediately claimed to be the sole ruler of the country and sealed this by dancing with the pretties ballerina. He felt that he was indestructible, at one point the narrator even compares him to Thor, the God of thunder in Germanic paganism. Thor is often depicted as holding the Mjolner, his hammer. This hammer also appears in the communist symbol made famous by the flag of the old U. S. S. R. ) This reason alone is what led Harrison to his downfall, being shot in cold blood by the Handicapper General herself. The importance of these events truly come to life once you put them in the perspective of Capitalism and Socialism. It implies that although Capitalism seems strong and powerful, it is too individual and hence weak. Socialism on the other hand is more down to earth, but moreover organized and effective as portrayed by the story. United we stand, divided we fall”, this phrase comes to mind when reading this story which is consistent with the ‘true’ idea of Socialism, everyone working together for the greater good. In the end of the story Harrison is shot ad killed on live television. Hazel, Harrison’s mother, just so happens to be watching it during these events. She cries during the events but the moment George comes back into the room she forgets what she was crying about. She claims what she saw was a “Doozy” but is encouraged by her husband to, “Forget Sad Things. Vonnegut uses this at the end of the story to predict the reaction of the general population if such an event was to take place. It seems that the reaction would be minimal and people will forget about it very quickly. In doing so Vonnegut successfully portrays his views on Socialism and Capitalism and even goes to such lengths as to predict the ‘winner’. Annotated Bibliography. Hattenhauer, Darryl. “The Politics of Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Harrison Bergeron’. ” Studies in Short Fiction 35. 4 (Fall 1998): 387(7). Academic OneFile. Gale. LIRN. Feb. 2009. Hattenhauer is the associate professor of American Literature at Arizona State University West. In his above article, Hattenhauer discusses the use of satire in Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron as used to portray the concept of true equality as being absurd and unachievable. Mowery, Carl. “Overview of Harrison Bergeron. ” EXPLORING Short Stories” . Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003 . Student Resource Center Gold. Gale. LIRN. 6 Feb. 2009. Mowery discusses the ongoing theme of forced equality in the story Harrison Bergeron.
He explores the way Vonnegut uses satire to portray the theme of equality of results as being inconceivable and shows how Vonnegut himself uses satire to attack the very same subject. “Themes and Construction: ‘Harrison Bergeron’. ” EXPLORING Short Stories. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center Gold. Gale. LIRN. 6 Feb. 2009. In this article the author lists and expands upon the many different themes that are present in Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron. He also touches upon the satire used to further expand on the meanings of the different themes present. Festa, Conrad. “Vonnegut’s Satire. ” EXPLORING Short Stories.
Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center Gold. Gale. LIRN. 6 Feb. 2009. In this excerpt, Festa concentrates on the two main themes that are present, Technology and Life. He analyzes the different satire used to build upon these two themes. “Plot Summary: ‘Harrison Bergeron’. ” DISCovering Authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center Gold. Gale. LIRN. 6 Feb. 2009. In this article, the author offers many different insights into Vonnegut’s story Harrison Bergeron. He offers background information on the story itself as well as analyzing the characters and general plot.