Harrison Bergeron PDF - Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Before Reading Harrison Bergeron Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. What if everyone were THE SAME ? What would the world be like if everyone wer...

Before Reading Harrison Bergeron Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. What if everyone were THE SAME ? What would the world be like if everyone were the RL 1 Cite textual evidence to same—average in intelligence, talents, appearance, and strength— support analysis of what the and no one was better than anyone else? How do you think text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the people would feel and act toward each other? Would they be text. RL 3 Analyze how complex happy and satisfied? characters develop over the Advan tages course of a text, interact with Disadvan tages other characters, and advance no m ore the plot. L 5 Demonstrate BRAINSTORM With your class, brainstorm possible nothing to jealousy understanding of word advantages and disadvantages of a world where live up to relationships. everyone is the same—exactly average. Try to generate as many ideas as possible. 36  Meet the Author text analysis: plot and conflict The plot of a story is driven by a conflict, or struggle between Kurt Vonnegut Jr. opposing forces. In some stories, the conflict is between 1922–2007 the main character and society. In “Harrison Bergeron,” for Serious Humor example, the title character struggles with U.S. society in the Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was one of the most year 2081. As you read, notice ways in which Harrison and the acclaimed satiric writers in America. After working briefly as a journalist, he began government oppose each other. Follow events to see who writing short stories in the late 1940s and prevails. continued writing stories, novels, dramas, and essays for more than 50 years. His fiction reading skill: draw conclusions deals with sobering topics—war, brutality, When you draw conclusions, you make judgments based on and fear of technology. But Vonnegut writes story details and your own prior knowledge. Use the following with dark humor and elements of fantasy and even absurdity, which have given his strategies to draw conclusions about the society depicted in writing lasting appeal. “Harrison Bergeron”: Voice of Experience Note what results from the society’s practices and laws. During World War II, Vonnegut was held as Apply your own knowledge to speculate about the motives a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany. The of its officials. city was leveled by a fierce firebombing, and the destruction and horror of that event As you read “Harrison Bergeron,” use a chart like the one became the focus of his most famous novel, shown to make notes about the society. Also include your own Slaughterhouse Five. Vonnegut wrote in a thoughts or reactions about the information. preface to the novel that it was about “the inhumanity of many of man’s inventions to Details About Society My Reactions man.” Vonnegut’s early work was not well received by critics, but since the 1970s he has Constitutional amendments make It would be hard to enforce been regarded as a major American writer. everyone equal in every way. equality. My Overall Conclusions background to the story What’s Your Handicap? If you have ever run a footrace or played golf, you might know the sports term handicap. vocabulary in context It refers to a way to even up a game so that good, average, and poor players can compete Vonnegut uses the following words in relating his futuristic as equals. In a footrace, for example, faster tale. To see how many words you already know, substitute runners might handicap themselves by a different word or phrase for each boldfaced term. Write your giving slower runners a head start. In answers in your Reader/Writer Notebook. “Harrison Bergeron,” people are given handicaps in daily life so that no one will be 1. vigilance with the children crossing the street any stronger, smarter, or better looking than 2. wince in pain after the injection anyone else. 3. filled with consternation at the thought 4. cower in the corner Author 5. synchronize our watches Online 6. neutralizing the impact Go to thinkcentral.com. tral.com.. KEYWORD: HML10-37 0-37 Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook. 37  Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. vigilance (vGjPE-lEns) Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April, for instance, n. alert attention, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy watchfulness month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old 10 son, Harrison, away. It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter.1 Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains. a a DRAW CONCLUSIONS George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel’s Reread lines 1–17. Cite cheeks, but she’d forgotten for the moment what they were about. specific details that describe society in 2081. 20 On the television screen were ballerinas. What is your opinion of A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits the society so far? from a burglar alarm. “That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did,” said Hazel. “Huh?” said George. “That dance—it was nice,” said Hazel. Examine the image of the “Yup,” said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They television announcer and the picture behind him. weren’t really very good—no better than anybody else would have been, What does this painting anyway. They were burdened with sashweights2 and bags of birdshot,3 and suggest about television? 1. transmitter: an electronic device for broadcasting radio signals. 2. sashweights: lead weights used in some kinds of windows to keep them from falling shut when raised. 3. birdshot: tiny lead pellets made to be loaded in shotgun shells. Detail of TVTime-Announcer (2002), Charles Foster-Hall. Acrylic on canvas, 16” × 20”, 41cm x 51 cm. © Charles 38 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood Foster-Hall.  their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a 30 pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in. George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped. But he didn’t get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas. Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself, she had to ask wince (wGns) v. to shrink George what the latest sound had been. or flinch involuntarily, especially in pain “Sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer,”4 said George. “I’d think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds,” said Hazel, a little envious. “All the things they think up.” 40 “Um,” said George. b b DRAW CONCLUSIONS “Only, if I was Handicapper General, you know what I would do?” said How does the society Hazel. Hazel, as a matter of fact, bore a strong resemblance to the Handicapper affect the thoughts and reactions of the people? General, a woman named Diana Moon Glampers. “If I was Diana Moon How does it influence Glampers,” said Hazel, “I’d have chimes on Sunday—just chimes. Kind of in their job performance? honor of religion.” “I could think, if it was just chimes,” said George. “Well—maybe make ’em real loud,” said Hazel. “I think I’d make a good Handicapper General.” “Good as anybody else,” said George. 50 “Who knows better’n I do what normal is?” said Hazel. “Right,” said George. He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son who was now in jail, about Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that. c c PLOT AND CONFLICT “Boy!” said Hazel, “that was a doozy, wasn’t it?” George’s thoughts reveal more about the conflict It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood between Harrison and on the rims of his red eyes. Two of the eight ballerinas had collapsed to the the society. On the basis studio floor and were holding their temples. of what you’ve read so “All of a sudden you look so tired,” said Hazel. “Why don’t you stretch out far, what behavior do you on the sofa, so’s you can rest your handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch.” think might be viewed as abnormal and illegal? 60 She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag, which was padlocked around George’s neck. “Go on and rest the bag for a little while,” she said. “I don’t care if you’re not equal to me for a while.” George weighed the bag with his hands. “I don’t mind it,” he said. “I don’t notice it any more. It’s just a part of me.” “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.” 4. ball peen hammer: a hammer with a head having one flat side and one rounded side. 40 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood 70 “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 set 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?” 80 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. d d DRAW CONCLUSIONS The television program was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin. It Reread lines 68–85. What do you think of George’s wasn’t clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like reasons for not lightening all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.5 For about half a minute, his handicap bag? and in a state of high excitement, the announcer tried to say, “Ladies and 90 gentlemen—” He finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read. “That’s all right—” Hazel said of the announcer, “he tried. That’s the big thing. He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for trying so hard.” “Ladies and gentlemen—” said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must L5 have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. Language Coach And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the Antonyms Reread lines dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred- 95–96. An antonym is pound men. a word that means the 100 And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair opposite of another voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. word. Which word “Excuse me—” she said, and she began again, making her voice absolutely in this sentence is an antonym for beautiful? uncompetitive. “Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,” she said in a grackle6 squawk, “has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous.” e e PLOT AND CONFLICT A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen— Here the rising action begins. What more do upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up. The you learn about the conflict between Harrison and the society? 5. speech impediment (Gm-pDdPE-mEnt): a physical defect that prevents a person from speaking normally. 6. grackle: a blackbird with a harsh, unpleasant call. harrison bergeron 41 TVTime 2 (2002), Charles Foster-Hall. Acrylic on canvas, 16˝ × 28˝, 41 cm x 72 cm. © Charles Foster-Hall. 110 picture showed the full length of Harrison against a background calibrated in feet and inches. He was exactly seven feet tall. The rest of Harrison’s appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody How would you describe had ever born heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the figures watching television? How well do the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental they represent George handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick and Hazel? wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides. Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but 120 Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds. And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random. f f PLOT AND CONFLICT “If you see this boy,” said the ballerina, “do not—I repeat, do not—try to Why has Harrison been reason with him.” so handicapped by the government? There was the shriek of a door being torn from its hinges. Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set. consternation The photograph of Harrison Bergeron on the screen jumped again and again, (kJnQstEr-nAPshEn) 130 as though dancing to the tune of an earthquake. n. confused amazement or fear 42 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood  George Bergeron correctly identified the earthquake, and well he might g GRAMMAR AND STYLE have—for many was the time his own home had danced to the same crashing Reread line 138. Notice tune. “My God—” said George, “that must be Harrison!” how Vonnegut uses The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an the precise adjectives clanking, clownish, and automobile collision in his head. huge to create a vivid When George could open his eyes again, the photograph of Harrison was image of Harrison’s gone. A living, breathing Harrison filled the screen. appearance. Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood in the center of the studio. g The knob of the uprooted studio door was still in his hand. Ballerinas, 140 technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, cower (kouPEr) v. to crouch expecting to die. down in fear “I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!” He stamped his foot and the studio shook. “Even as I stand here—” he bellowed, “crippled, hobbled, sickened—I am a greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can become!” Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds. 150 Harrison’s scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor. Harrison thrust his thumbs under the bar of the padlock that secured his head harness. The bar snapped like celery. Harrison smashed his headphones and spectacles against the wall. He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder. “I shall now select my Empress!” he said, looking down on the cowering people. “Let the first woman who dares rise to her feet claim her mate and her throne!” h h PLOT AND CONFLICT A moment passed, and then a ballerina arose, swaying like a willow. Reread lines 142–158. Notice how Harrison views 160 Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her himself in relation to other physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. Last of all, he removed her mask. people. How do his views She was blindingly beautiful. put him in conflict with “Now—” said Harrison, taking her hand, “shall we show the people the the government? meaning of the word dance? Music!” he commanded. The musicians scrambled back into their chairs, and Harrison stripped them of their handicaps, too. “Play your best,” he told them, “and I’ll make you barons and dukes and earls.” The music began. It was normal at first—cheap, silly, false. But Harrison snatched two musicians from their chairs, waved them like batons as he sang 170 the music as he wanted it played. He slammed them back into their chairs. The music began again and was much improved. harrison bergeron 43  Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while—listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it. synchronize They shifted their weights to their toes. (sGngPkrE-nFzQ) v. to match the timing of Harrison placed his big hands on the girl’s tiny waist, letting her sense the weightlessness that would soon be hers. And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang! Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well. 180 They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun. They leaped like deer on the moon. The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers nearer to it. It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. neutralize (nLPtrE-lFzQ) v. They kissed it. to counteract or cancel And then, neutralizing gravity with love and pure will, they remained the effect of suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time. i i DRAW CONCLUSIONS It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came Reread lines 177–188. What words and phrases 190 into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and indicate how the narrator the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor. views this breaking of Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians the laws? and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on. It was then that the Bergerons’ television tube burned out. j j PLOT AND CONFLICT Hazel turned to comment about the blackout to George. But George had How is the conflict resolved? gone out into the kitchen for a can of beer. George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again. “You been crying?” he said to Hazel. “Yup,” she said. 200 “What about?” he said. “I forget,” she said. “Something real sad on television.” “What was it?” he said. “It’s all kind of mixed up in my mind,” said Hazel. “Forget sad things,” said George. “I always do,” said Hazel. “That’s my girl,” said George. He winced. There was the sound of a riveting gun7 in his head. k DRAW CONCLUSIONS “Gee—I could tell that one was a doozy,” said Hazel. Why do George and Hazel “You can say that again,” said George. react this way to their 210 “Gee—” said Hazel, “I could tell that one was a doozy.” k son’s death? 7. riveting (rGvPG-tGng) gun: a power tool used to hammer bolts (called rivets) that are used in construction work and manufacturing to fasten metal beams or plates together. 44 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood After Reading Comprehension 1. Recall Why does the government handicap George but not Hazel? RL 1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the 2. Recall Why is the government looking for Harrison? text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the 3. Recall What does the Handicapper General do to Harrison? text. RL 3 Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with 4. Clarify Why don’t Harrison’s parents respond with more feeling to other characters, and advance what they have seen? the plot. Text Analysis 5. Analyze Plot and Conflict Summarize the main conflict in “Harrison Bergeron.” How is this conflict resolved? How does the resolution help to make the story successful? 6. Recognize Climax Recall that the climax, or turning point, is the high point of interest and tension in a story. What is the climax of this story? 7. Draw Conclusions Look back at the chart you created as you read. What overall conclusions can you draw about the society depicted in the story? Consider how people must function and what has become “normal.” 8. Interpret Theme What is Vonnegut saying about improving society by makaing everyone average? Support your opinion with evidence from the story. 9. Evaluate Would society have been better off with Harrison in charge? Using a chart like this one, predict the effects of Harrison’s becoming emperor. Harrison becomes emperor. 10. Synthesize Think about the criticisms of society made in “Harrison Bergeron.” What aspects of today’s society seem open to Vonnegut’s criticisms? Text Criticism 11. Critical Interpretation One critic has argued that Vonnegut portrays television as “a kind of desensitizing, numbing, and clearly thought-stifling, rather than thought-provoking, medium” that is partly responsible for the state of society. Do you agree or disagree? Support your opinion. What if everyone were THE SAME? Would you be happier if no one were better (or worse) than anyone else? harrison bergeron 45 Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice consternation Write the letter of the word that is most different in meaning from the others. cower neutralize 1. (a) vigilance, (b) attention, (c) alertness, (d) laziness synchronize 2. (a) grin, (b) flinch, (c) wince, (d) shrink vigilance 3. (a) joy, (b) consternation, (c) happiness, (d) elation wince 4. (a) tower, (b) crouch, (c) cower, (d) cringe 5. (a) time, (b) synchronize, (c) set, (d) separate 6. (a) neutralize, (b) worsen, (c) lessen, (d) decrease academic vocabulary in speaking affect communicate definite establish identify Identify the social tendencies Vonnegut is warning against in “Harrison Bergeron.” Analyze the flaws of the society he depicts and discuss with a partner what Vonnegut seems to be recommending. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your discussion. vocabulary strategy: the greek root syn The vocabulary word synchronize contains the Greek word root syn, which L 4c Consult reference materials to determine or clarify a word’s means “together” or “similar.” This root is found in a number of English words. meaning or etymology. To understand the meaning of words with syn, use context clues as well as your knowledge of the root. synthesize syndrome syn synonym synchronize syndicate PRACTICE Write the word from the word web that best completes each sentence. Use context clues to help you or, if necessary, consult a dictionary or glossary. 1. A _ is a group of symptoms that together indicate a disease. 2. A _ is a word that has the same or a similar meaning to another word. 3. A _ is a company that is made up of different parts, such as a Interactive newspaper, a magazine, and a TV network. Vocabulary 4. Swimmers often _ their movements in an underwater ballet. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-46 5. To _ something is to combine separate elements to form a whole. 46 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood Language grammar and style: Use Precise Language L 3 Apply knowledge of language to make effective Review the Grammar and Style note on page 43. Vonnegut creates effective choices for meaning or style. images, such as the image of Harrison in the TV studio, by using precise adjectives. When describing people, places, and events in your own writing, choose adjectives that allow readers to easily visualize them. Avoid using such adjectives as good and nice, which are too general to give readers a true sense of what is described. Here are two examples of Vonnegut’s use of precise adjectives: She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. (lines 95–96) Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. (line 101) Notice how the revisions in blue make this first draft more descriptive. Revise your own writing by using more precise adjectives. student model difficult smarter, stronger, and more attractive Harrison Bergeron has a big problem. He’s better than everyone else, and the illegal government says that’s bad. reading-writing connection
YOUR Increase your understanding of “Harrison Bergeron” by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing. TURN writing prompt revising tip Short Constructed Response: Description Review your response. Imagine that a film version of “Harrison Bergeron” How have you used is being released and you have been assigned precise adjectives to to write a blurb, or brief description, for a local describe the people, newspaper. In one or two paragraphs, describe the places, and events in Interactive plot and conflict in a way that makes people want the film? Revision to see the movie. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-47 harrison bergeron 47