HANDICAPS

In Kurt Vonneguts dystopian short story, Harrison Bergeron, one of the most
prominent symbols used throughout are the handicaps given to gifted individuals
to counteract their beauty and stifle their abilities in order to promote so-called
equality in their society. They function as symbols to represent the confining
pressures of society and other obstacles in life that hold one back from reaching
there full potential. This is best exemplified through Harrisons spectacular dance
with the brave ballerina after he bursts into the television studio, declaring himself
as Emperor. Vonnegut describes this event using expressions such as an
explosion of joy and grace and highlighted their motion using an assortment of
colorful verbs like reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, flounced, capered,
gamboled, and spun. The reason why Harrison and the Ballerina are able to be
so beautiful and magnificent is because they broke free from their handicaps and
are able to stand apart from the masses as individuals. They abandoned the
laws of the land, broke beyond the confines of society, and were able to perform
amazing and unthinkable tasks. This clearly compounds the storys overall
themes about the dangers of oppressive society, and exemplifies the idea that
societal pressures/measures of oppression from government can result in
individuals being boxed in and restrained from reaching their full potential.
COMPETITION MOTIF
A recurring motif in Kurt Vonneguts Harrison Bergeron is the idea of
competition. Throughout the text, words and phrases associated to competition
are repeated to provide social commentary on the oppressive society in this
futuristic world. For example, when the ballerina reads the announcement on
television in a melodic tone, Vonnegut describes this as unfair, and her altered
tone of voice as uncompetitive. Being gifted in any way is regarded the same as
having an unfair advantage over other members of society as they inherently
compete each other for success in life. The motif continues when Vonnegut uses
the phrase the race of life when discussing Harrisons excess amounts of
handicaps to keep him from, again, possessing an unfair head start in said race
of life. The use of such language connects back to the idea that the human
existence is seen as a race or competition, in which each person must begin and
end at the same place, and move at an equal pace, and those with advantages
must be weighed down. Thus is the prevailing motive for their oppressive

societys extreme measures in effort to create equality.