In Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron," George and Hazel are watching the news when their son takes over the television station and declares that he is America's emperor. In Vonnegut's future society, Harrison Bergeron is an extremely talented, physically and mentally superior fourteen-year-old boy, who is forced to wear cumbersome handicaps that make him equal to everyone else in society. Unfortunately, the United States Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, enters the television studio with a double-barrel shotgun and kills Harrison on national television. The story ends with George walking back into the living room with a beer to discover that Hazel has been crying after seeing her son killed on television. When George asks Hazel why she has been crying, she says, "I forget...Something real sad on television" (Vonnegut, 6). George then gives his wife some advice and tells Hazel, "Forget sad things" (Vonnegut, 6). One could argue that George's advice is considered good advice because Hazel is essentially helpless. The audience knows that Hazel has average intelligence, which means that she can only think of things in short bursts. Therefore, it is probably best that Hazel forgets seeing her son shot on television so that she doesn't dwell on the traumatic event for the remainder of her life.
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