Harrison Bergeron: Notes on Symbolism, Satire, and Irony

Kurt Vonnegut
HARRISON BERGERON

Symbolism
• Definition: Person, place, thing, or event that
stands for itself and for something beyond
itself as well. (Lit. Book, P. 1145)
• Dante’s fourfold method

1. Literal or Historical Level
• Things that are actually happening in the
story on a surface level
• Example from “Hibernation”: The bee

2. Political Level
• The level on which human beings relate to
others in a community and in the world.

3. Moral or Psychological Level
• The way in which the self relates to the realm
of ethics (right and wrong)
• Ex: The bee could symbolize the ethical
question of bringing someone back to life. Is
it right for man to play at “being God” by
exerting control over life and death?

4. Spiritual Level
• The universal level on which a person relates
to the cosmos, the way of the soul.
• Ex: The bee could also symbolize humanity’s
universal struggle –understanding and coping
with death.

• Watch the clip from the movie Gattaca.
• Write down any objects, people, places, or
actions that could be symbols.
• After the movie, discuss what they could
mean.

Symbolism in “<strong>Harrison</strong>
<strong>Bergeron</strong>”
• Step 1: Find an object, person, place or action
in the text that may represent something
beyond itself.
• Step 2: Decide what the symbol represents
or means on any of Dante’s four levels.
• Repeat Steps 1-2 for a total of 3 symbols.

Symbolism (English 9)
• Symbol: Person, place, thing, or event that
stands for itself and for something beyond
itself as well. (Lit. Book, P. 1145)
• This means every symbol has a concrete and
an abstract meaning.

How To Interpret Symbolism
1. Look for an object that could be significant.
2. Think: What do I associate with this object?
3. Connect those associations to bigger, universal
ideas.
Example:
1. The moon in “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls…”
2. One associates the moon with beauty, nature,
wolves howling, hunting…
3. The moon symbolizes the untamed beauty of the
wild, which is the home the girls long to reclaim.

Satire
• Definition: Type of writing that ridicules
something –a person, a group of people,
humanity at large, an attitude or failing, a
social institution –in order to reveal a
weakness.
Satires often use…
Persuasion
Exaggeration (Hyperbole)

Irony
• Definition- the contrast between expectation
and reality
• Ex: the handicaps

Theme
• Definition- central idea of a work of literature
• The idea an author wishes to reveal about a
subject
The “So what?”
Gives a text meaning

Themes in “<strong>Harrison</strong> <strong>Bergeron</strong>”
• Individualism
• Power
• Censorship
• Freedom
• Memory
The legacy of human creativity is the foundation
of civilization.

Microlab
• You will have one minute to respond to each
of the following questions:
1. Why does the government handicap people?
2. What does <strong>Harrison</strong> <strong>Bergeron</strong> symbolize?
Remember to consider Dante’s four levels*
3. What aspect(s) of today’s society could Kurt
Vonnegut be satirizing?