When looking at the opening line of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," I think there are two words to focus on: "finally" and "equal." The story was published in 1961, a time in America in which "equal" meant something different. It was the Civil Rights era, a time in which black Americans were fighting for equal rights, or rights that were equivalent to those of white Americans. Vonnegut plays on this idea of "equality" using the word "finally." With the story taking place in 2081 and his inclusion of the word "finally," Vonnegut suggests from the opening that it had taken more than 100 years to reach this sought-after equality.
However, Vonnegut uses the word "equality" ironically in this story, as it refers to the reduction of everyone's rights and a reduction of everyone's abilities. Those who are extraordinary in their looks, intelligence or athleticism are required to reduce themselves to a lowest common denominator. George Bergeron, the father of the title character, has a conversation with his wife who suggests he removes the "handicaps" that make them "equal." He responds by saying:
"If I tried to get away with it ... then other people'd get away with it--and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?"
"Harrison Bergeron" has many political implications, particularly in how we look at exceptional people. The opening line uses language from the Civil Rights movement to discuss this idea and then to show that "equality" does not mean reducing ourselves.
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