Harrison Bergeron (short story)

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Harrison Bergeron is a short story by the American writer Kurt Vonnegut . The story with fantasy and science fiction influences, which can be assigned to the genre of dystopia , was first published in 1961 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and was republished in 1968 in Kurt Vonnegut's collection Welcome to the Monkey House .

The German translation first appeared in 1990 in Ways to Science Fiction - Sixth Volume (Heyne Library of Science Fiction Literature 95. Munich 1990).

theme

The subject of the short story, which takes place in the year 2081, is the attempt of a fictional state to suppress any individuality in the population through coercion and to achieve complete equality within society. As a means to the goal of avoiding critical thinking and questioning and eliminating memories, limiting the ability to think and a low level of education of the citizens serve.

Ideological background

An amendment to the constitution states that all human beings should be equal not only before the law and before God, but also in all other matters of life.

In the fictional state of the short story, this article is modified in such a way that no person may be superior to other people in intelligence , appearance, physical strength and speed or in any other quality. Those individuals who are naturally superior in one of these qualities are restricted by their own government agency through certain handicaps in order to ensure the equality of all. These handicaps are, for example, radio transmitters in the ears of the more intelligent people who regularly emit shrill noises, thereby causing a kind of blackout and preventing clear thinking and any memories. In addition, heavy weights attached to the bodies of athletic people reduce the strength of those concerned and ugly, disfiguring, mask-like objects on the face are supposed to hide the beauty. From the number and nature of a person's handicaps, conclusions can be drawn about their actual physical and mental abilities.

action

George and Hazel Bergeron have a son, Harrison, who was stolen from them by the government's handicap service when they were 14 but cannot remember him. George has been handicapped for his intelligence and physical strength, while his wife has no handicaps because of her general mediocrity.

One evening while the couple were watching a live broadcast of a ballet on television, the program was interrupted by a breaking news story: 14-year-old Harrison Bergeron, who was arrested on suspicion of overthrowing the government, has escaped from prison. Harrison, who is regarded as a brilliant and excellent athlete, is not sufficiently handicapped and therefore extremely dangerous. The station shows a picture of the escaped and warns the population explicitly against him.

Suddenly the escaped Harrison appears on the ballet stage and terrifies those present. Its gigantic appearance is huge and impressive. In the middle of the stage he gets rid of all his handicaps, declares himself to be the sole ruler and also looks for a suitable queen. The first woman who dares to come on stage with him is to become his queen. One of the ballerinas rises, Harrison removes her handicaps and reveals her incredible beauty. The musicians also remove their handicaps, they play to dance. Freed from all handicaps and completely detached, Harrison dances with his ballerina, the two seem to defy gravity with their jumps and finally, while sliding through the air, they kiss each other deeply.

At this point, the handicap minister Diana Moon Glampers enters the hall with her guard and, without hesitation, shoots Harrison and the ballerina with her rifle. The two hit the ground and are instantly dead. The musicians, who have already fallen silent, immediately put their handicaps on again, threatening the same punishment.

The Bergerons' screen has now gone black. George Bergeron, who just got a beer in the kitchen and got a violent shock from his transmitter in his ear, asks Hazel why she is crying. She says she saw something very sad on TV, but she cannot remember it. George advises her not to think about sad things before being shocked by violent multiple gunshot noises in the ear.

Film adaptations

  • Harrison Bergeron - IQ Runner - Revolt of the Subhumans (1995); is a Canadian science fiction feature film based on the short story but deviating from the original plot
  • Harrison Bergeron (2006); 30 min, English-language short film based on the short story
  • 2081 (2009); a 25-minute, English-language, American science-fiction short film, which is very close to the plot of the original short story Harrison Bergeron is built

literature

  • Kurt Vonnegut: Harrison Bergeron , in: James Gunn (Ed.): Paths to Science Fiction - Sixth Volume, Heyne Library of Science Fiction Literature. 95. Munich 1990.
  • Kurt Vonnegut: Welcome to the Monkey House: Stories . 1950-1968. Dial Press Trade 1998.
  • Darryl Hattenhauer: The Politics of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" . Academic journal article; Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 35, No. 4th 1998
  • zeno: Yearbook for literature and criticism. Issue 32/2012: Equality; 2011.