If you were away today, we
- discussed "Harrison Bergeron" with guided questions
- discussed didactic poetry, connotation, and euphemisms (notes)
- read a selection of didactic war poems
Questions for “Harrison Bergeron”
1. What is the tone of this story?
2. When Harrison Bergeron is completely free from his handicaps, he defies the laws of gravity and motion. What might the author be suggesting about the potential of free human beings?
3. In traditional stories, the hero is a superhuman figure, who "saves" people from an enemy. In what passages is Harrison superhuman? How are the results of Harrison's efforts ironic?
4. What ideas or programs in American society do you think Vonnegut might be ridiculing in "Harrison Bergeron"?
5. If we are to take this story as an allegory, what is the author warning the public about (in regard to government)?
Homework:
- none