Download “Harrison Bergeron” Questions New Criticism Historical Context

“Harrison Bergeron” Questions
New Criticism
1. What is the tone of this story?
2. Comment on the effectiveness of the following allusions:
(a) Diana Moon Glampers (think Greek-Roman mythology)
(b) Thor (think Norse mythology)
(c) “The American Dream” (in reverse)
3. What is ironic about Harrison’s declaration of himself as emperor?
4. What is the dominant theme (message) of this short story?
Historical Context – Historicist Criticism/Marxist Criticism
- 1961 Newton Minow (the Federal Communications Commission Chairman) made a speech in which he called current
television programming “The Vast Wasteland”
- George and Hazel’s dialogue at the end of the story echoes lines like those heard from George Burns and Gracie Allen
(a comedy due)
- Handicapper General’s men are the “H-G men” – while FBI agents are often called G-men
- During the 1960s, the United States was also involved in the Cold War against the Soviet Union (and its extreme
totalitarian Communist policies)
1.
Remember our discussion of the “criticism” implicit in Bradbury’s “The Pedestrian” – could Vonnegut be
criticizing the same trend? Why or why not?
2. How might Vonnegut’s story be considered a warning against the American ideal of equality taken to an extreme
(such as in a communist state)?
Archetypal Criticism
1. Apply “the Outcast” archetype to the story, and Harrison himself.
2. In some stories, the hero is a superhuman figure, who “saves” people from an enemy. In what passages is
Harrison superhuman?
References
http://zainabkhawaja.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/harrison-bergeron-an-interpretive-essay/