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Examples Of Irony In Harrison Bergeron

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There is no true definition of equality as there are many ways to interpret its meaning. Kurt Vonnegut defines equality as everyone being the same in terms of intelligence, looks, and athletic ability. This type of equality creates a society that cannot think or act on its own. The author creates a lifestyle that he believes would be contributable to today's society. Vonnegut uses examples of imagery and irony in his short story "Harrison Bergeron" to depict an overall theme of equality.

As presented in the story, imagery gives the reader greater detail on the version of equality in the story. George Bergeron has a mental handicap, in which he has a symptom that he claims it "sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball pen hammer" (Vonnegut). This applies to the human senses giving the reader an idea of what George hears. The story goes into detail on several types of handicaps. Harrison is described as a "walking junkyard" (Vonnegut) as he is covered with scrap metal and other junk. Vonnegut uses sashweights and bags of birdshot to restrict to abnormally strong characters. Birdshot is a small, metal type of ammunition used for hunting birds, but is considerably heavy. …show more content…

He starts the story off by stating "The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal." Equality in this context describes everyone as the same, whereas, equality in the U.S. would be generally described as equal rights. Vonnegut uses some dramatic irony in his short story. Hazel is crying when she sees Harrison die. George states, "You been crying." "What about?" asked George. She responded, "I forget, something real sad on television" (Vonnegut). Harrison's parents do not realize that their son is killed due to their handicaps. Harrison lacerates straps assured to withstand five thousand pounds. That kind of feat is physically impossible for a human

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