Harrison Burgeron

Everyone always wants to have what someone else has. We ask ourselves, “Why can’t I be as skinny as her? Why can’t I be as smart as him?” But quite honestly, what would the world be like if we were all the same? If we couldn’t express ourselves? In Harrison Burgeron, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. writes a story about what he thinks the world would be like with everyone equal, showing that it would take away our ability to grow, our individuality, and our freedom.

In the beginning of the story “Harrison Burgeron”, the author writes, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law, they were equal in every which way.” It also mentions that “Nobody was smarter, quicker, or stronger than anybody else.” If everyone was completely equal, our country would go nowhere. We would never develop new technologies, create new pieces of art, or build amazing new buildings. It would be taking away the diversity that America is known for.

Also, the story mentions a ballerina. She was exceptionally beautiful, but she has to wear a hideous mask to hide it. Henry is exceptionally smart, but he has to wear an earpiece to keep him from using too much of his brain. Harrison is over 7 feet tall, and very strong. He has to wear enormous weights to keep him from unfairly using his muscles. These people have qualities that make them who they are, that define them. Is it really fair to take that away?

Lastly, making everyone equal would take away our freedom. It would take away our ability to think for ourselves and speak for ourselves, such as Henry and Hazel It would take away the freedom this country has spent so long fighting for.

In “Harrison Burgeron”, Kurt Vonnegut expresses his views of what the world would be like if everyone was equal. In the story, the government takes away thier ability to evolve, thier individuality, and thier freedom.  The world cannot evolve and grow without these things, making us realize that being ourselves isn’t such a bad thing.