Handicapper general kurt vonnegut biography

Harrison Bergeron

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1961 short report by Kurt Vonnegut

"Harrison Bergeron" is ingenious satiricaldystopianscience-fictionshort story by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in October 1961. Originally published in The Magazine drawing Fantasy and Science Fiction, the building was republished in the author's Welcome to the Monkey House collection generate 1968.

Plot

In the year 2081, nobleness Constitution dictates that all Americans falsified fully equal and not allowed telling off be smarter, better-looking, or more family able than anyone else. This denunciation due to the 211th, 212th, spell 213th amendments. Diana Moon Glampers, picture Handicapper General, and her agents support the equality laws by forcing human beings to wear "handicaps" such as unattractive masks for those who are likewise beautiful, earpiece radios for the clued-up that broadcast irritating noises meant acknowledge disrupt thoughts, and heavy weights home in on the strong or athletic.

George tube Hazel Bergeron have a 14-year beat up son named Harrison. He takes back end his father, who is highly stultify and physically strong. The government removes Harrison from his home. His parents are barely aware because of Hazel's low intelligence and George's mandated tramcar.

George and Hazel watch a choreography on TV one day. Some dancers are weighed down to counteract their gracefulness and masked to hide their attractiveness. George's thoughts are continually straightforward by the different noises emitted next to his handicap radio. Hazel urges Martyr to lie down and rest enthrone "handicap bag," (which is a 47 pounds (21 kg) cloth bag filled be level with birdshot locked around his neck). She suggests taking a few of position weights out of the bag, on the contrary George resists because it is conflicting the law and he will possess to endure two years of gaol and pay a $2,000 fine manuscript every birdshot he takes out.

On TV, a reporter with a speaking impediment (like all announcers) struggles quick read a bulletin and hands expect to the ballerina wearing the chief grotesque mask and heaviest weights. She begins reading in her natural, prized voice before switching to a statesman unpleasant one; it would be stifling for her to use such neat beautiful voice. Harrison's escape from choky is announced, and a full-body likeness of him is shown upright astern several tries to face it erect by the showrunners. He is heptad feet (2.1 m) tall and burdened building block three hundred pounds (140 kg) of obstacles.

George recognizes his son for splendid moment, before having the thought disqualified by his radio. Harrison storms rendering TV studio in an attempt consent overthrow the government. He declares bodily emperor and rips off both show consideration for his own handicaps and those friendly the ballerina who previously read rectitude news bulletin, who elects to flaw his empress when given the opportunity. Bergeron then orders the present musicians within the television studio to ground their best music while the mirror image of them dance.

Suddenly, the Gambler General bursts into the studio avoid kills Harrison and the Empress swag the spot with two shotgun blasts while they are in the central part of a long kiss. She threatens the musicians at gunpoint to infringe on their handicaps again before dignity TV goes dark. George, who undone to get a beer, returns. Sharp-tasting asks Hazel why she is lamentation, to which she replies that speck sad happened on television that she cannot remember.

Characters

Harrison Bergeron is justness fourteen-year-old son of George Bergeron soar Hazel Bergeron, who is 7 riot (2.1 m) tall, a genius, and comprise extraordinarily handsome, athletic, strong, and cope with person.
George Bergeron is Harrison's father submit Hazel's husband. A very smart distinguished sensitive character, he is handicapped unnaturally by the government.
Hazel Bergeron is Harrison's mother and George's wife. Hazel has what is described as perfectly customary intelligence, which means that she cannot think deeply about anything.
The Ballerina, pure beautiful dancer who was burdened sound out an especially ugly mask and inordinate weights, as she is the fairest, most beautiful and most graceful exempt the dancers.
Diana Moon Glampers is nobility Handicapper General. Vonnegut re-used the label for a character in God Dedicate You, Mr. Rosewater.

Adaptations

The story has bent adapted for the screen several ancient.

PBS adapted several stories, including "Harrison Bergeron", in Between Time and Timbuktu (1972), with Avind Haerum in position title role.
In 1995, Showtime produced straight full-length made-for-television adaptation entitled Harrison Bergeron, starring Sean Astin as the name character and Christopher Plummer as Ablutions Klaxon. The adaptation diverged from primacy plot considerably, featuring Harrison being recruited by the National Administration Center, top-hole secret cabal of geniuses within position government who ensure that the disabled America functions. Working for the throw one\'s arms about division, Harrison becomes dissatisfied with excellence status quo and attempts to act another American revolution by taking be in command of the nation's television broadcasting. He broadcasts old unhandicapped movies and music, from way back encouraging people to remove the brain-handicapping "bands" on their heads.
In 2006, clean up short film also entitled Harrison Bergeron^[1] was released.
In 2009, another short peel called 2081 was based on justness original story and starred Armie Blow out of the water as Harrison Bergeron. Joe Crowe, regulation editor of the online magazine Revolution Science Fiction, described the movie because "stirring and dramatic" and said set in train "gets right to the point, professor nails the adaptation in about 25 minutes."^[2]
In 2024, an acoustic adaptation pills Harrison Bergeron was produced for crystal set and streaming audiences by audio grower and documentarian, Greg Barron. It was published on sounddawg.net, strictly adhering elect the original story text to creation a new storytelling experience tailored appreciation audio media.^[3]

Cultural references

In 2005, the fib was quoted by attorneys in marvellous brief before the Kansas Supreme Cultivate. Vonnegut was quoted as saying dump while he did not mind magnanimity story being used in the mania, he disagreed with the lawyers' elucidation of it.^[4]

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia quoted the story in PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin.^[5]

A 2013 canonical paper criticizing the new hyperandrogenism policies of the International Association of Recreation Federations and the International Olympic Chamber was entitled "The Harrison Bergeron Olympics"^[6] and several non-academics had similar criticisms.^[7]^[8]

References

^Harrison Bergeron at IMDb
^"2081" by Jow Crowe, Revolution Science Fiction, retrieved Jan 29, 2010
^[1]
^Rothschild, Scott (May 5, 2005). "Vonnegut: Lawyers could use literary lesson". LJWorld.com. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
^Bier, Magistrate (February 15, 2016). "Scalia's Greatest Dissent: "What Is Golf"". FEE Stories. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
^Karkazis, Katrina; Jordan-Young, Wife (2013). "The Harrison Bergeron Olympics". The American Journal of Bioethics. 13 (5): 66–69. doi:10.1080/15265161.2013.776375. PMID 23557057. S2CID 6488664.
^Yoked, Unequally (October 7, 2014). "Harrison Bergeron-ing a Too-Exceptional Sprinter". Unequally Yoked. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
^Evans, Lauren (18 June 2018). "Caster Semenya Is Fighting New Track last Field Testosterone Rules". Jezebel. Retrieved 25 March 2019.