Harrison+Bergeron

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Harrison Bergeron

Point of View: Third Person

Protagonist: Harrison What type of character is the Protagonist? Round

Antagonist:Diana Moon Glampers.

Describe the setting: The setting is in the future, everything and everyone is the same and there is no change in anything.

Type of Conflict:Man VS Society.

Describe the main conflict: The main conflict is that the government wants everyone to be equal, so people have to wear handicaps. but there are some people who have to wear more handicaps and want to break free. People like Harrison. Harrison broke out of jail and free from his handicaps but Diana the handicap general came and shot him dead.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax was when Harrison broke into the studio telling everyone that he was emperor and he danced with his empress. Diana shot them both dead

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? Harrison, at the begging of the story was taken away and sent to jail. later on the in the story he breaks free from jail and his handicaps

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. They are related because Harrison Bergeron has no freedom of anything, and is forced to wear big handicaps, and other tools to make him looks equal with everyone else.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict which is the fact that no one has a choice in what happens. They are made to where handicaps so everyone is equal. This helps illustrate the theme of "freedom" because it shows that they have no control of their own lives.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax helps to illustrate the theme of "freedom" because when Harrison takes off his handicaps for a few minutes he's completely free. Then Diana comes and shots him and yet again takes his freedom from him.

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: "They leaped like deer on the moon"

Metaphor: “Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen” she said in a grackle squawk."

Personification:

Symbol: Handicaps are a symbol of being locked up.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): When Harrison took off his handicaps you knew that something bad was most likely going to happen to him in the near future.

Irony: When Harrison dies Hazel is crying and when George asks her why she can't remember

Imagery: When it describes what Harrison is forced to wear. He's made to wear glasses that make him partially blind and give his massive headaches, a red nose, and black caps on his beautiful white teeth.

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. One relationship between these two are that Harrison Bergeron is human, so he must have humanities. His emotions are trapped away inside his mind with the handicaps, and because he is human, he has the urge to take them off, in which he does.


 * Humanity Power Point Assignment - see bottom of this page

Harrison Bergeron – Response Questions**

1. What has guaranteed equality in the story? All the equality was because of the 211th, 212th, and 213 Amendments to the constitution.

2. How old is Harrison? 14 years old

3. What has happened to Harrison and why? Harrison went to jail because he plotted on overthrowing the government.

4. How has the government made George and Hazel equal? What does George have to wear? And what does this do? The government made Hazel and George equal by making George wear a mental handicap radio in his ear. The radio was a government transmitter that sent sharp noise to people who were smarter every time they tried to take advantage of being smart.

5. What does Hazel say she would do if she were Handicap General?Hazel said she would have chimes ring on Sunday in honor of religion.

6. What is the name of the Handicap General? Diana Moon General

7. What is the consequence for taking lessening the weight of the handicap bag?

8. What reason does George give for not trying to cheat? If George tried to cheat,then other people would try to cheat and soon everybody would be competing with everybody and life would just go back to the "Dark Ages".

Because of this reason, what can we infer about George’s opinion of the current laws? Because of the way George reacted to Hazels statement it shows that he respects the current laws and the way everything is run.

9. Why wasn’t the news bulletin clear at first to George and Hazel and other viewers? The news bulletin wasn't clear at first because the anouncer had a serious speech impediment.

10. Why did the ballerina apologize about her voice? The ballerina apologized about her vice because it was "a warm, luminous, timeless melody ", and it wasn't like everyone else's.

11. What is the news bulletin? The news bulletin was about how Harrison escaped from jail, and how he was extremely dangerous.

12. Describe Harrison Bergeron with all of his handicaps?Harrison wore giant headphones, thick glasses with wavy lines ment to make him half blind and give him massive headaches. Scrap metal was hung all over him and he wore a big red ball at the end of his nose to offset his good looks. Harrison was ordered to keep his eyebrows shaved and put black caps on the ends of his perfect white teeth.

13. What does Harrison declare on television? Harrison declares that he is the Emperor and that everyone must do what he says.

14. What happens to Harrison? Be specific. Harrison tears his handicaps off himself then selects a ballerina as an Empress. He took off her handicaps and ordered musicians to play music. The two of them sprang high into the air and kissed each other. All of a sudden Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General can through the doors and shot both Harrison and the ballerina.

15. What does this story suggest about human nature? The story suggests that we as humans are naturally extremely competitive people and we like to be different and better then other people.