Bergeron's headphones interrupt his thoughts at frequent intervals, making it impossible for him to think coherently. Television commercials do not interrupt our thoughts as frequently as George's twenty second interruptions, but the idea is the same. After a television show has engaged our minds for a few minutes, a television commercial, often jarringly different in tone and content from what we were watching, breaks in. This can make it hard to reorient ourselves to the program we're viewing, though in most cases, we are accustomed to the periodic interruptions.
A difference between George's headphones and television commercials is that the commercials are meant to persuade us to buy a product or to condition us to perceive some void in our life that a product will fill. George, however, is simply interrupted by disturbing noises. It's surprising that the government doesn't take advantage of this opportunity to "get inside" George's head with messages--or maybe they do. One might surmise by the way the elder Bergerons acquiesce to being constantly tormented to achieve "equality" that the couple has been subjected to indoctrination or brainwashing.
A closer parallel to what Bergeron experiences with his headphones are the amber and other alerts that sometimes buzz uncontrollably through cell phones.
A simile that expresses the impact the headphones have on George is the following: after a buzzer sounds, the thoughts flee from his head in "panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm." This suggests that the headphones are effective: George is not only being jarred out of thinking, but conditioned to avoid thoughts, just as thieves do burglar alarms.
In Kurt Vonnegut's short story, "Harrison Bergeron," the noises transmitted by George Bergeron's headphones are meant to prevent him from taking unfair advantage of his above average intelligence.
"And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains. George and Hazel were watching television."
These headphones interrupted his thoughts, causing him to never be able to ponder or meditate on anything longer than 15-20 seconds. While the broadcast media does not interrupt television programming that frequently, the advertising that is done is pervasive and does frequently interrupt the flow of any type of show, whether for entertainment or informational purposes. Often television shows spend several minutes recapping what happened before and after commercial interruptions, therefore limiting what can be broadcast in the limited time slot. But it isn't just the broadcast media that bombards consumers with messages. Even more prolific than broadcast media, smartphone apps and internet sites are imbued with pop-up ads that interrupt the flow of work and demand immediate attention. The pervasiveness of these ads often makes it difficult to sustain concentration and focus, limiting productivity in much the same way that George was being limited--with constant bombardment and interruption.
The noises that interrupt George's thoughts range from mild--like the sounds of "somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer," to deafening, like the twenty-one gun salute. Vonnegut describes one incident of this noise pollution thusly:
"A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm."
This use of simile suggests the effect the noise handicapping is having on him emotionally. He is tortured by the sounds, they cause panic, pain, fear, trembling, and angst when they are happening, but then like a fainting spell, he seems to have no recollection of them. They are putting him in a daze, interrupted only by intermittent torture.
"It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood on the rims of his red eyes."
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