Harrison Bergeron Summary & Analysis

The year is 2081, and all people living in the United States are absolutely equal “in every which way”—they are equally smart, equally attractive, and so on. This is due to a series of amendments to the Constitution, and to the vigilance of the United States Handicapper General.

Despite the nation’s sweeping equality, all is not wholly perfect—“H-G men” have taken away George and Hazel Bergeron’s teenaged son, Harrison. Though this is tragic, the Bergerons “couldn’t think about it very hard,” since Hazel can’t think about anything very hard and George, who has above-average strength and intelligence, must wear mental and physical handicaps at all times. While George and Hazel watch television, George’s thoughts are frequently interrupted by his mental handicap device—a radio transmitter that airs a series of loud, invasive noises, intended to disturb one’s train of thought.

The TV is broadcasting a dance performance and, though Hazel says the dance is “nice,” George begins to wonder whether it would be better if the ballerinas weren’t burdened by weights and masks designed to make sure that those watching won’t feel like “something the cat drug in” by comparison. However, an interruption coming from his mental handicap prevents his pursuit of this thought. As George reacts to the invasive noises, two of the ballerinas onstage simultaneously wince. Hazel, unaffected by the mental handicaps, makes shallow remarks on the nature of the noises her husband is subjected to, wondering aloud about “all the different sounds” her husband listens to, and commenting “Boy! That was a doozy!” whenever she notices George’s reactions to his handicap.

Noticing that her husband looks tired, Hazel suggests that he rest his physical handicap (a canvas bag filled with heavy lead balls, padlocked to his neck) on the sofa, going so far as to suggest that he remove a few of the lead balls while they’re at home. George refuses, reminding his wife of the punishment he would receive if he were caught disobeying the Handicapper General: “Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out.” He asks Hazel, rhetorically, what she thinks would happen if people disobeyed the laws set by the HG, and she answers, “Reckon it’d fall apart.” This line of conversation ends when George loses his train of thought and the pair continues to watch television.

A news bulletin interrupts the ballet performance, but the actual news is delayed as the announcer’s voice is hampered by a speech impediment, so a ballerina reads the bulletin instead. She informs viewers that Harrison Bergeron has recently escaped from jail after being “held on suspicion of overthrowing the government.” He is described as an extremely dangerous and under-handicapped genius and athlete. Harrison’s photo appears on-screen. He is seven feet tall, and his body is covered with grotesque handicap devices made to hamper his extraordinary strength, intelligence, and natural beauty. Among these handicaps, Harrison wears large earphones and blinding glasses as mental handicaps, costume makeup and a red rubber nose to offset his handsome looks, and over 300 pounds worth of physical handicap devices. The ballerina instructs viewers not to reason with Harrison if they see him.

A loud noise interrupts the bulletin, the source of which is Harrison Bergeron tearing down the door to the television studio on-screen. Harrison declares himself Emperor and proceeds to destroy all of his mental and physical handicaps “like wet tissue paper” in front of the television cameras. He then calls for an Empress, stating, “the first woman who dares rise to her feet [will] claim her mate and her throne!” A ballerina rises to join him, and Harrison destroys all of her handicaps as well, revealing her natural state as “blindingly beautiful.” Harrison then removes the handicap devices from the musicians in the studio and instructs them to play music as he dances with his Empress.

The pair sways to the music, and eventually, “in an explosion of joy and grace” Harrison and the ballerina spring in the air and float up to the ceiling. They kiss the ceiling and then each other, all while floating in thin air. The performance “neutrali[zed] gravity with love and pure will,” and Harrison and the ballerina remain “suspended in thin air” while they continue kissing.

All of a sudden, Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, barges onto the scene with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She shoots Harrison and the ballerina, who die before they hit the ground. She then instructs the musicians to put their handicaps back on or face a similar fate. The scene is cut short when the Bergerons’ television burns out.

George, who had left the living room to get a beer, returns to find Hazel in tears, but Hazel cannot remember why she is crying. George urges Hazel to “forget sad things,” and Hazel replies, “I always do.” The exchange is interrupted by George’s mental handicap device, which transmits the sound of a “riveting gun.” The story ends with Hazel’s comment on the latest soundwave, stating “Gee—I could tell that one was a doozy.”