“Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a short story that depicts an oppressive, dystopian society where everyone is equal, not just in rights. At a centralized level of intelligence, beauty, athletic skills and talent, the U.S. Government attempted to create a harmonious culture by banning competition and aggression in the country. The H.G. Police (Handicapper General) handicapped anyone that set the rest of the “average” population at a physical or intellectual disadvantages. Those with a higher I.Q. were lawfully required to wear a radio in their ear at all times. Every twenty seconds, the radio would blast off and cut short any coherent thought, numbing the subject down to an ideal level of brainpower, which didn’t go further than few, short unintelligent thoughts at the time. Those gifted with breathtaking looks, strength, grace, or speed were leveled down by atrocious masks and heavy lead-ball sacs to hang over their bodies and slow them down. Those that outgrew all handicapping equipment were imprisoned for life.
The despotic regime as described by Vonnegut reminded me of the novel This Perfect Day. Less efficiently than Ira Levin’s Uni, the H.G. police achieved equality and peace by physically altering the population thought brute force and torture: Headaches to null the mind, heavy sacs to impede athletes, humiliating Halloween props to mar a beautiful face and metallic junk to ruin a well sculpted body. Jail and fines met anyone attempting to relieve themselves of their equipment. Death met those that readily defied their government. In the same way that the Family saw conflict appalling and primitive, the “handicapped” population was conditioned to believe that the unfair advantages each was born with lead to competition and violence, such as those in the times before the H.G. assumed power. Characters who could think long enough, concluded that defying the law would only bring back those dark times. One could even say a "Pre-Uni" age. "Harrison Bergerson" treads over the fantastical, fictional line of dystopian genre, and invites the reader to experience a version of the country in which equality is valued and pursued over individual rights.
