Harrison's World.

Bijoy Babu
Language Arts
3/7/10

HARRISON’S WORLD

Irony. True irony, this is the type of story that you would know is an irony by reading the first what, paragraph of the story? Today we are reading a very unusual and very confusing story called “Harrison Bergeron.” ‘Harrison Bergeron” is a masterpiece irony from author Kurt Vonnegut and it explains the deep parts and situations we all get into if life in the future was finally “equal” or if you know what I mean…

The year was 2081, in the future, where the world is completely equal. Everyone was equal. The people were equal, the countries were equal, the governments and so forth were all equal. Nobody was smarter or dumber than anyone else. There was one thing that stuck me most about this story and that it has a very emotional, very strong dialogue for such a delusional piece of work. Kurt has put his talents into this story and making it a very amusing, while confusing story you will never forget, and it all starts in the month April to be exact. This is where the drama takes place.

Harrison Bergeron is a 14 year old boy and on that month, that April month, the Handicapped General men took him away from his family, his mother Hazel and his father George. You think they would have fought and cried, but all they really did was just stand there. They knew it was a tragedy but this part of the story confused me even more. Why did his parents just stand there? In my opinion I think it was just a rule, a law in the “equal world” that there should be no action taken in times like this.

When the couple were watching television after that night, they saw a show on ballerinas and it makes you think, why in the world would you think they are watching television when their only son got arrested? It makes you think a lot but it is just probably a simple answer. That it is one of the rules and laws in the equal world. By the way, whoever is running this world is probably a madman…or woman. We get to the scene were Hazel and George are almost done watching the ballerinas when they show a picture of their son, Harrison on screen. This is where the real action takes place. You could hear the crowd start taking and out of nowhere, Harrison just walks up on stage. It was just like that, in an instant. “I am the Emperor!” shouted Harrison. Now I thought, this was going to be the good part. He was finally going to take control of the world and make it a better place? I don’t know but he looked like he was going to do something. The more this story progresses onto the end, the more you realize that something is going to happen. I told you that it was an irony and it is. Now what could happen next I wonder?

Harrison made the audience fill the room with silence. You couldn’t even hear people breath. Harrison announced that he wanted an Empress, a wife so he could rule the world with her. Now this part really made me confused. An arrested boy about 14 years old just walks upstage and declares that he is Emperor? I don’t think so but that is what really happened. Now by now you might be thinking what is going on here? I will tell you that one of the ballerinas from the audience comes up and wants to be his wife. Harrison takes of her ballerina mask and see’s the beauty of her face. The thought that comes up to his mind that he knows he is doing the right thing. He is going to marry her, and they will be the couple who ruled, and changed the world forever. B y this time Hazel and George were in shock, their son, right on television just declared he was King and was already by now, dancing with his new wife. What an extraordinary event. Everyone was dancing and laughing and cheering that they were free. What a time it was! But you know that that all happy and joyous events don’t last forever. Out of nowhere, while the couples were dancing, Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapped General of the United States came out behind the curtains with a double barrel shotgun and fired twice. The Emperor and Empress where dead. The last words that Harrison’s parents said. The ones who couldn’t do anything from the beginning said:
"Gee - I could tell that one was a doozy," said Hazel.
"You can say that again," said George.
"Gee-" said Hazel, "I could tell that one was a doozy."
That was the end of Harrison Bergeron.

The story quite resembles many other stories in the making but for this story alone. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is a masterpiece that is great for any fan of irony. I am not a big fan of irony myself but from reading this story, I know that this is something to look into. That irony is a deep dark story with a tragic beginning, a dark middle and a tragic flaw at the end. The characters in this story, from Harrison Bergeron to the one and only Diana Moon Glampers. These characters are a solid resemblance of who the people might be if the world was all equal. And for those people out there who want to know if the world is ever going to be equal, or if anything like this might happen. I might guarantee that it’s not going to happen. Never.