"The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal." "Harrison Bergeron ", a story of a dystopian future America where equality is forced on the populace through a myriad of authoritarian laws which curb everything from beauty, intelligence and physical prowess. Equality is essentially achieved by government issued handicaps which hinder people's talents and is actually a part of the American constitution. The titular character attempts to break free from these restrictions by making the choice to go against the government, only to meet his ultimate demise. .
Harrison Bergeron is seven feet tall, immensely strong, intelligent and extremely handsome! At age fourteen, Harrison is a boy who longs to try hard and flaunt his attributes, which is typical in boys in our society, but in 2081 things are different. Boys like to show off talents now and it isn't necessarily bad but in 2081 equality amongst everyone is essential. He wants to live as a unimpeded human being and does not want to obey the laws of the government, which has taken on the responsibility of creating equality for the whole American society. Later on he is jailed by the Handicapper General's office for suspicion of planning to overthrow the government. To eliminate any, "unfair advantages " the Handicapper General forces him to wear the most extreme handicaps. Keep in mind he is just still only a teenager and is taken away from his parents because he does not agree with what the government is doing and will not conform. We can assume Harrison resisted Handicaps, or the Handicaps henchmen loathed him because he is put in the most Handicaps anyone has ever seen! "Instead of a little ear radio (like his fathers) for a mental cap, he wears a tremendous pair of earphones and spectacles with thick, wavy glasses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.