Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions1492. As children we were taught to

memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.Vonnegut presents a different perspective of a common event:

what is it? Why do you think school children are taught to respect the date? Is it right to teach this to children? What can you conclude about Vonnegut and his writing based on this quote? Would he and Swift be friends? Explain.

“Harrison Bergeron”Kurt Vonnegut

A warning about the FUTURE

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)A blend of comedy, satire, science fiction and

politics. Humanist

“Harrison Bergeron”First published in 1961 in the Magazine of

Fantasy and Science Fiction. SATIRE

Enforced Equality Political abuse of power (Handicapper General) Enervating effects of TV

Finally EqualCapitalism goneAmerican democracy gone

Consider the fact that this short story was published in 1961

What does the elimination of advantages, difference, and competition suggest concerning the nature of the changes that have taken place?

Is this possible in America? Should it be? Barbie dolls—original vs. now? Sports—every one gets a chance; medals to all;

not keeping score

Vonnegut’s SatirePolitical commentary using

Exaggeration- an overstatementUnderstatement-opposite of exaggeration; using a

statement, often in the negative, to create comedic effect.

Farce-form of low comedy designed to provoke laughter through highly exaggerated caricatures of people in improbable or silly situations.

Irony-saying/doing one thing while meaning another. When the opposite of what is expected to happen occurs

Mockery: An absurd misrepresentation or imitation of something.While reading, every time you see an example of these tools being used, jot it

down…you may or may not find all of them, but you should find several examples for a few.

SATIREEnforced Equality

“Handicaps”Ear radios (intelligence)Bags of bird shot (strength)Masks (physical beauty)

Political abuse of powerHandicapper General

“Do or Die” Exempt from law?

Enervating effects of TVHazel: how did she become “normal”; she has some

reasoning skills, but only thinks in short bursts—does TV do this to us?

George: acceptance of the “normal”; no rebellion; desensitized to violence and ignorant to truth—can TV do this?

Neil Postman: Amusing Ourselves to Death “this ensemble of electronic techniques called into being a new world– a peek-a-boo world, where now this event, no that, pops into view for a moment, then vanishes again. It is a world without much coherence or sense […] like the child’s game of peek-a-boo entirely self contained. But like peek-a-boo, it is also endlessly entertaining” (77).

What we can extractImportance freedom, civil rights, and even

social statusStrong vs. Weak—mental, physical, emotional

etc. Dangers of dystopian (degraded, oppressive

state) societyThe more the government controls the less the

public knows and the more ignorant they become

Ignorance should not be bliss, though Hazel seems to embody this cliché

Failure to appreciate uniqueness could lead to this kind of apathy

Complete analysis handout with your partner

10 minutes