"Harrison Bergeron"

     In "Harrison Bergeron" America has turned into a society of complete equality. People who are supposedly supreme are given handicaps to make them not so supreme. Everyone is made equal and it is implied that this is the direction America is heading in now if we try to continue pushing equality.
     Harrison Bergeron is a symbol of the most advanced and supreme human being in this story. He is said to be a wonderful athlete, dancer, and is extremely good looking. In order to fix this, they give him weights so he is less strong, they put a red nose on him and black stuff in his teeth to make him ugly. The government tries to make him just like all of the below average Americans so everyone will be equal.
    In this story there is a ballerina scene at the end. The character Harrison Bergeron is a boy who does not believe in this equality he is being forced into, and he does not want to be a part of it. He continually pushes to change this equality and has been put in jail for it. After escaping jail, he breaks into the dance studio where the ballerinas are dancing on television, and shouting "I am the Emperor". Harrison then starts to break all of his handicaps and take off his weights. This is a form of rebel against the government because he does not agree with everyone being equal. Then, Harrison says that the first ballerina to stand up will be his empress. When a ballerina stands up, Harrison takes off and breaks off all of her handicaps as well. This is a symbol of them breaking free of the imprisonment they have been in for so long. They start dancing after this and it is described as "defying gravity". The dance is so majestic and they are kissing the ceiling and kissing each other. To me, this is a symbol of their hopeful rebirth. They are showing off their beauty. I pictured this scene as baby chicks hatching from their eggs and entering a new world. They broke through their handicaps and were able to experience a world that was so much more beautiful to them. The ballerina showed this through her dancing. The dance she was doing before with her handicaps on was not as pretty and majestic because she was weighed down. However, without her handicaps on, she was able to reach her full potential  and dance beautifully. She kissed the ceiling because she was able to get up that high without her weights on. It was something she has not been able to do and she was embracing it.
     In the end, the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, arrives and shoots both Harrison Bergeron and the ballerina. This was a symbol that any hope of changing this new form of equality in society will be shot down. If the one American who was strong enough and smart enough to change this was shot and killed for it, than there is no other hope for anyone else to try. This equality was the new way of life and everyone needed to except it.