Harrison Bergeron’s version of equality doesn’t match up to what people are asking for. People fight to be treated the same, not to be the same. Harrison Bergeron is set in a world where everyone is equal after years of clamoring for it, everyone is the same. There is no uniqueness among individuals. George and Hazel Bergeron, sitting in their living room watching TV, one dumb and the other forcibly handicapped, unable to think about their missing son, have no uniqueness.
George’s handicap forces him to have the same level of intelligence as his wife. Their son Harrison, 7 feet tall and weighed down by more handicaps than anyone else, appears on TV and begins to stage his own small rebellion, ripping off his handicaps and dancing to good music with a beautiful ballerina. When Harrison is finally subdued, George and Hazel immediately forget and go back to their dull-drum lives.
Inequality is caused by differences in the world. The different skin tones, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and everything that makes people unique, are what creates inequality. People who are different are asking for equality, to be treated the same way, when that very difference is what caused inequality.
In Harrison’s world, differences are made to be the same. For example, the ballerina that announces Harrison’s escape is described as, “She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred-pound men.” Beauty and strength are considered to be what causes inequalities, and are therefore taken away to create equality. However, the point of fighting for equality is for people to be accepted, regardless of looks and strength. When people of color are asking for equality, they don’t want to be white – they want to be treated the same regardless of skin color.
Hazel, being of average intelligence, is what we would consider stupid. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts.” In a world of true equality, Hazel wouldn’t be looked down on for her intelligence and would instead be treated the same as everyone else. Instead, everyone around her is forced to be at the same level of intelligence, which means none of them have independent, intelligent thought. Her husband, George, for example, has “intelligence…way above normal”, requiring him to wear “a little mental handicap radio in his ear.”. He’s “required by law to wear it at all times.”.
The handicap “would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” This noise, while restricting thought and demeaning everyone’s intelligence, is also painful to anyone wearing it. George winces every time a noise goes off, and during the bad ones, he can barely function.
Harrison fights to be unique in a world of sameness because he is unique. He wants to be able to be himself while also being treated the same. That’s the core of the fight for equality: being different while being treated the same. When people of color are asking for equality.
