Kurt Vonnegut paints a picture of American society 120 years after 1961. Society has made a gradual change, but it is still drastic. After nearly two hundred amendments to the Constitution, everyone should be equal in every way. “No one was smarter than anyone else. No one was more beautiful than anyone else. No one was stronger or faster than anyone else. (232 Vonnegut). In this panorama Vonnegut shows that people will never be completely equal, and trying to force equality through the control of individuals will only create a new class system. In the 1960s, as today, equality was a frequent topic of debate. The civil rights movement was rapidly gaining support, as was equal pay for women, protection of voting rights for minorities, and political change that embraced many of Karl Marx's teachings (Decade of Change). There was the idea that if the playing field could be leveled, if economic or social classes could be dissolved, then everyone would be happy and successful. Kurt Vonnegut was a socialist, many assume that this dream corresponds to his beliefs. However, “Too often, [Vonnegut] warns, people take for granted that equality means being equal. This is simply not realistic (Albona).” Vonnegut did not believe in equality, rather he was in favor of equal opportunities. This is why he shows us a possible future society in which “No one was smarter than anyone else. No one was more beautiful than anyone else. No one was stronger or faster than anyone else. (232 Vonnegut). And this is why there are two distinct classes, average citizens with handicaps and above average citizens without handicaps. Furthermore there are two other less obvious classes, the below average citizens and the agents of the handicap ge...... middle of paper...... equal opportunities before the law and in society, but its idea was equal opportunity for success. According to him “it was exceptional people who improved society” (Albona). Harrison Bergeron is his frightening caricature of what society would become if people continued with the absurd ideas of equalization of the sixties. Works Cited “Decades of Change – 1960-1980.” Notes on the history of the United States. US Department of State. 2011. Web.1 April 2014Albona, Linda. “Harrison Bergeron.” Masterplots II: Short Stories, revised edition, January 2004. 1-2Literary Reference Center. Network. April 1, 2014.Mowery, Carl. “Harrison Bergeron.” Short stories for students. 2002. Literary Resource Center.Web. April 1, 2014. Vonnegut, Kurt. “Harrison Bergeron.” Literature and introduction to fiction, poetry, theater and writing. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 232-236. Press.