47 pages • 1 hour read
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.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.
The earpiece is a symbol of control. The Handicapper General uses it to “keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains” (18). Whenever George thinks too long about anything, the earpiece emits a painful sound to stop his thoughts. This sound prevents him from thinking about his son, the ballet dancers, and his obedience to the Handicapper General. The earpiece is meant to stop not just dissident thoughts but all thoughts, as critical thinking is a threat to the state. The story suggests that the sounds emitted by the earpiece are broadcasts of state violence. The government uses its weapons to kill both bodies and minds. Violence not only kills people like Harrison, but it also keeps people like George obedient.
In a society that enforces equality, excellence is impossible even among professional dancers. To have a beautiful ballet, excellence must be embraced. Harrison embraces excellence. After declaring himself emperor, he dances a beautiful ballet that “defies gravity” with his empress. While average ballet is a symbol of enforced equality, beautiful ballet is a way to reject that rule and embrace excellence. Ending Harrison’s empire meant ending the dance. It was the excellence of Harrison’s dance with the ballet dancer that upset the Handicapper General.
By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
2 B R 0 2 B
2 B R 0 2 B
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Breakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Cat's Cradle
Cat's Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Deadeye Dick
Deadeye Dick
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Epicac
Epicac
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Fates Worse Than Death
Fates Worse Than Death
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Galapagos
Galapagos
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God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Mother Night
Mother Night
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Player Piano
Player Piano
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Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
The Sirens of Titan
The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Welcome to the Monkey House
Welcome to the Monkey House
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.