The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side

Why is it that, as humans, we feel the need to make things fair? Is equality really the solution to all of our problems? In Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story “Harrison Bergeron”, the characters live in a society where everyone’s natural ability and talent are not praised. Every character is made equal by bringing those with more intelligence, or those who are more athletic, down to the level of a person who lacks those entities. The United States Handicapper General is in charge of creating handicaps. For example, if a person has an intelligence that exceeds that of the person in the lowest caliber, they get a device put in their ear, that lets out a sharp, deafening sound which prevents them from thinking. Apart from this intelligence handicap, there are handicaps for physical ability, looks, even musical talent. Our society would be completely different than it is today if there were handicaps for talent. And although this equality is supposed to be a characteristic of utopian society, it seems as though we would find it otherwise.

The society of not only the United States, but the world, is much more technologically advanced than it was 100 years ago. If there was such a thing as the United States Handicapper General that placed handicaps on intelligence, there would be no place for improvement or new technology. There wouldn’t be computers, television, space travel, internet, long-distance calling. It would affect businesses, families, and everyday life in general. Imagine not being able to call family members who lived on the other side of the country. Today, using a telephone to call long distance is an everyday thing. But if Alexander Graham Bell had had an intellectual handicap, he would not have been able to think long enough, due to the screeching in his ear, to invent the telephone. These handicaps make a society worse, and even with the handicaps, are people really equal?

Nearly everyone enjoys watching, playing, or talking about sports. The Olympics are exciting and create a sense of nationalism. And no one can deny the joy that comes out of competition. If everyone had the same physical abilities, there would be no point in sports, or the Olympics. In athletics, the athletes are pushed to do their best, and to be the best. The physical handicaps that the United States Handicapper General puts on the athletes take away from that determination. Not only would the athletes not try as hard, the games wouldn’t be fun to watch if no team was allowed to win, if everyone had to be equal. Also, in the story, George makes a comment about how the ballerinas aren’t very good, “no better than anyone else would have been, anyway” (10). This just shows that the handicaps put on society make things less enjoyable, but the people just don’t realize because they don’t have the brain capacity to do so.

The government has so much control over the society because of the handicaps that they put on people, that there is no chance of a successful revolution. It isn’t because the people aren’t unhappy, it is because they don’t have the mental or physical ability to come together and do so. If one person goes against the government, as Harrison Bergeron does, he is shot down immediately, and 5 seconds later no one even remembers that it happened. It makes the reader wonder how many times someone has stood up against the government, and no one remembers.

Although many people think of an equal society as something positive, the story “Harrison Bergeron” shows that it is indeed the exact opposite. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., in a sense, mocks the stupidity of the people who have created this perfect society, by pointing out that they approved the amendments (211, 212, 213) that created the handicaps (1). The characters in “Harrison Bergeron” aren’t really happy, they just don’t remember why they are sad. When Hazel is crying in the beginning of the story, she feels a tear drop on her face and forgets why she had been crying. It is unfortunate that in order to create an equal society, everyone loses their natural abilities, which in most societies, are looked upon as a positive thing. I believe that competition and jealousy makes a society more successful and allows for positive change, and technological advances. This story also proves that these ‘utopian’ societies aren’t really all that they appear to be. (742)