This story by science-fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut is about a future world in which the government tries to make everyone equal. The strong must carry heavy weights, the beautiful must wear masks, and the clever are subjected to distracting sounds to stop them thinking clearly. As is usual in totalitarian worlds, those in power are excused from all this… especially the Handicapper General and her “H-G” men. A powerful, gifted fourteen-year-old boy tries to change things as his parents watch on in confusion. Themes: control (forced conformity through oppression and violence), identity (equality vs. individuality), rebellion, media power.
Written in the late 1960s, the story satirizes conformity: the lengths many people of the day went to in order to “fit in” with the look and expectations of their community and/or peer group, rather than assert their individuality.
Ironically, Harrison’s conceited declaration of himself as Emperor, and his actions in assaulting two musicians and threatening the others to get them to play music the way he wanted, suggest that his rule would have been just as despotic as the existing government.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (2,200 words)