English 10 Speech: Harrison Bergeron

Madysen Kouba

Ms. Fordahl

English 10

November 20 2013

Harrison Bergeron Speech

        All of our lives, we’re told that being different is okay, and not everything is fair. But, what if, one day, everyone was equal? Equally pretty or handsome, equally strong, equally athletic, and equally talented. No one would fight, no one would compete, and no one would be judged on their abilities. In the short story Harrison Bergeron, the author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. gives us an idea of how nice it would be to have no competition among ourselves, but, on the flipside, how boring and dull life would be without it.

        Life without competition; it sounds really great, and really boring at the same time. As stated in the story, “They [everyone] were equal in every which way.” Of course, if someone was average looking and not athletic, having no competition would seem great. Those people wouldn't have to worry about being judged by others ‘superior’ to them, worry about their appearance, or be made fun of. For once, they would feel equal, and equality is something for which today's government works hard to achieve. In the story, George tells his wife Hazel “Pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everyone competing against everybody else.”  But, what about those who are extremely competitive, who thrive on the thrill of competing? If we didn't have competition, we wouldn't feel the need to work hard for something we truly wanted. 

        Equality is something for which almost everyone strives. But, complete equality for all is just not possible. In Harrison Bergeron, the citizens of the society think that life is equal and fair, but if you really think about it, it’s not. Harrison, the extremely handsome and gifted son of Hazel and George, is handicapped very heavily and in prison for trying to rebel against the government. When someone is born with great talents and beauty, why is it okay for the Handicapper General in the story to handicap that person? The government wants everything and everyone equal and fair, but they don’t realize that keeping gifted people from showing their full potentials is not fair.

The Handicapper General is meant to be one of the highest figures of authority, someone to be loved but also feared. So, when you think about it, how cruel is it to handicap these people, young and old? Screaming headpieces in their ears, ugly masks to set off their beauty, and heavy bags of birdshot to weigh them down. It sounds like torture, but these people are so clueless and well behaved that they think nothing of it. “I’m used to it now, its like its a part of me,” George tells Hazel about his birdshot weights.
Everything is a competition, with people wanting to be better at everything else, and when someone is really good at something, they can get cocky and greedy. So, I can see why the government in the story wants to handicap people and make them equal, so there is no competition or disagreements. Life is one big beauty pageant, with everyone picking at your body, the way you speak, the way you look, and seeing if your talents are actually worthwhile and interesting. Sure, some days it would be nice to not have to compete with others for something, but unless Vonnegut’s story comes true, it won’t ever happen. The only way it will happen is if people stop caring about what people do and think, and just worry about themselves. Besides, competition makes life interesting, challenging us to try our best and be the best we can be, and nothing is better than pushing yourself to be the best.