Question

Read the following excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron":

"You been so tired lately—kind of wore out," said Hazel. "If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. Just a few.
"Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out," said George. "I don't call that a bargain."
"If you could just take a few out when you came home from work," said Hazel. "I mean—you don't compete with anybody around here. You just sit around."
"If I tried to get away with it," said George, "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?"
"I'd hate it," said Hazel.
"There you are," said George. The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?"
If Hazel hadn't been able to come up with an answer to this question, George couldn't have supplied one. A siren was going off in his head.
"Reckon it'd fall all apart," said Hazel.
"What would?" said George blankly.
"Society," said Hazel uncertainly. "Wasn't that what you just said?
"Who knows?" said George.


Analyze Vonnegut's use of irony to convey meaning in this story. In particular, explain how the dystopian setting contributes to the author's message. Provide evidence for your analysis from the text.

Answer 1

Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' uses irony to critique a dystopian society's forced equality and its effects on individual potential, as conveyed through the exchange between George and Hazel.

Step-by-step explanation:

Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron uses irony to convey its message within a dystopian setting. The government's enforcement of artificial equality by handicapping individuals, as depicted in George's reluctance to remove the lead balls from his bag, despite his wife Hazel's suggestion, highlights the oppressive nature of society.

The irony is found in the fact that the measures taken to ensure equality are the very things that prevent individuals from realizing their potential, leading to a society void of ambition, competition, and progress.

The dialogue between George and Hazel underscores the absurdity of the laws in place to maintain equality. George is aware that removing the weights would undermine societal order, although he also understands that such regulations prevent genuine human experience and development.

Hazel's confusion and indecision about what would happen to society if people started cheating on laws reveal a lack of critical thinking, a direct result of the dystopian world's suppression of individuality and intellectual freedom.

Answer 2

In this story, the dystopian setting conveys the author's message by illustrating its harsh laws to its citizens and thus implying its dictatorship. In this particular scene, a reader can feel George is obligated to submit to the laws of his community even if his own welfare suffers. It  can be seen that Hazel is somewhat blind to the effects the dystopia has on her family.