9th Grade Cohort B - Vonnegut "College Essay about Harrison Bergeron"

Notes from "Socialism, Communism & Harrison Bergeron" by Zainab Khawaja:

*These are YOUR notes from the Jigsaw we did last week*

Group 1:
Part 1 of the article will focus on themes/allusions in the story
Part 2 of the article will focus on 2 responses to the story: 1) The common view, that "HB" is a satire on the basic principles of communism, and 2) Vonnegut is a leftist, therefore his story is a satire on the fears of the American public.

Group 2:
HG Men - a satire on the FBI (G-men) during the Cold War, who "hunted" suspected commies
"Diana Moon" is an allusion to the Greek Goddess "Diana" (the goddess of the hunt), who was notably ruthless
Harrison = Thor (Norse god of Thunder, really powerful)

Group 3:
Vonnegut's view: noone should be "handicapped" just because they are talented
Freedom can be taken away easily by changes to the law
"Normal" = "sub-normal" in the story
People took "equality" literally in the story

Group 4:
The story is a perverted view on the "American Dream"; in the story, competition to succeed has been taken out of society.
Harrison represents a threat to "equality" - he is talented and competitive
Harrison tries to overthrow a totalitarian government by CREATING a totalitarian government, which represents inherent flaw with human power and corruption

Group 5:
TV has a big influence on society
Many fear(ed) that TV causes attention deficit issues (Hazel's character)
TV makes us desensitized and emotionless
Common view: "This is a satire on the Soviets!"

Group 6:
2 views - Vonnegut makes fun of "commies" OR Vonnegut is making fun of OUR misconception of what true "equality" looks like

Group 7:
Vonnegut was a Leftist (Democrat); he frequently satirizes the Right wing
Vonnegut believed in a "plentiful living for all"
Believing that Vonnegut is making fun of "commies" and "Soviets" is a belief that goes against his political beliefs.

Group 8:
Vonnegut was making a satire on how the US thought communism would destroy all things American
He wasn't directly pointing at Americans; he was masking the irony
He uses the "floating kiss" scene to highlight the impossibilities present in his story - to show he was writing satirically


Granted, there are many things we didn't cover in our notes, these are some good ones that y'all created from your Jigsaw groups. Good job =)
-J