المعيار
Volume 16, Numéro 1, Pages 258-269
2025-06-01
Satirizing American Authoritarianism : Power And The Limits Of Resistance In Kurt Vonnegut's "harrison Bergeron"
Authors : Ounis Chahrazad .
Abstract
The article explores the issues of authoritarianism and conformity as central themes in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” (1961) with a focus on the scope of resistance. Studying authoritarianism as understood by John Duckitt reveals the incongruities of anti-democratic political systems while the analysis of conformity through reference to Herbert Kelman’s conformity personality types demonstrates how controlling the freedom of thinking can consolidate the conformity of the citizens. Resistance , as a thematic concern , is analyzed in the light of Michel Foucault’s notion on power and opposition. Harrison Bergeron’s act of rebellion was desperately aborted by the governing system putting forward a strong suggestion about the limits of resistance under such oppressive systems. Vonnegut's employment of satirical techniques to convey the themes in question further enlarges our understanding of the serious issues Subsequently, the analysis enlarges our understanding of the serious issues related to authoritarianism and eventually makes Kurt Vonnegut’s short story stand as a denunciation of anti- democratic ideologies .
Keywords
authoritarianism , conformity , anti - democratic ideology , power, resistance, Harrison Bergeron
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