What can one learn about the appropriate limits of ensuring equality from reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron"?

Before discussing the idea of "equality" in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," I think it's important to establish what type of "equality" he is writing about. Although the story was published in 1961, a year in which African Americans and their allies were fighting to achieve equal rights under the law, Vonnegut is really discussing ability and the tendency to reduce ourselves in order to ensure others feel okay. This is obvious due to the fact...

Before discussing the idea of "equality" in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," I think it's important to establish what type of "equality" he is writing about. Although the story was published in 1961, a year in which African Americans and their allies were fighting to achieve equal rights under the law, Vonnegut is really discussing ability and the tendency to reduce ourselves in order to ensure others feel okay. This is obvious due to the fact that there is no discussion of race or gender in the story, but rather a discussion of ability. The handicaps are meant to make those who are great equal to those who are at the bottom in regards of a specific talent or ability.

In this story, Vonnegut clearly intends to show that no matter how much society or the government aims to suppress someone's ability and uniqueness, that ability and uniqueness always has the potential to reach the forefront. There are several examples of this in the story, but for me, the most persuasive of these is the ballerina who reads the news. Despite the handicapper general's requirement that she wear a "hideous" mask, it was clear to the viewers that "[s]he must have been extraordinarily beautiful." In addition, her voice was "a warm, luminous, timeless melody." All attempts to mask these traits ultimately fail because the viewer still recognizes exceptionalism.

This is Vonnegut's point in this story. Society and the government can attempt to make sure no one is extraordinary, but no matter how hard they try, the exceptionalism of certain individuals' abilities or traits is impossible to mask.