47 pages 1 hour read

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Harrison Bergeron

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1960

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Reading Context

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What might be the benefits and harms of living in a society where everyone was equal in all things (rights, talents, abilities, accomplishments, grades, economy, workload, etc.)?

Teaching Suggestion: You might begin with a discussion of utopia (various ideas for a perfect society) and what might need to change for our current community/society to achieve utopia. Then, you could lead students to consider how what seems to be a good idea might have unintended consequences. Mention that “Harrison Bergeron” envisions a utopia where everyone is literally equal in all things. After students reflect on the question above, you could ask them to share their responses (if they are willing) to promote discussion.

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