Science Fiction has been famous for stretching the imagination of the reader. Even though "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, is not a "hard" Science Fiction story, since it show no relevance to real natural science; like Biology or Chemistry. It is taking the social views of Political Science, and putting that into focus. In addition, society's idea of equality, made every American that was not treated unfairly, do something. It was also a great time to write this story, since it was during the time that Civil Rights were a big issue.
The story was being told in the third person and the narrator is an omniscient, and non-participant in the plot and setting. The setting is in the future, based in a living room, and the characters observing a live show on television. The antagonist is Harrison Bergeron, and is easily noticeable in the title of the story. The protagonist is the Handicapper General. The supporting characters are George and Hazel. Who are in the living room, and they give us clues, on the status, of society. They have to be reliable, since every person is equal. The tone of the story is consistent, since the narrator is not participating in the story. We would have to assume that he is confident and omniscient. .
Their are two forms of symbolism that is showing in the story. One of which is how the Constitution and the United States Handicapper General symbolizes equality. The other would be how society as a whole symbolizes equality. .
There is no real foreshadowing in the story. It is more of a social commentary on current events in that time. The narrator told the story as it went along, and made points of past events to help accommodate the reader, on what was going on. The idea of telling a "soft" Science Fiction story is to tell a scientific view of the future, using subjective views. For example, the main idea of the story was derived from the concepts of Political Science; thus, the ideas of Civil Rights.
