George and Hazel are Harrison's biological parents, which is what makes the tragedy all the more upsetting. Since the reader sees the events of the short story unfold from their home, the apathy with which George and Hazel reflect on and view their son develops a sense of horror and disbelief.
Harrison, who is described at the beginning of the story as being arrested at 14 for being too "abnormal" compared to the handicapped others of the dystopian society, escapes from jail midway through the story. George and Hazel watch the news coverage of the escape, appearance, and killing of their son, but they are unable, because of their handicaps, to linger on the realities of what they are witnessing. Instead, they move beyond the murder of their son on television in mere seconds to discuss the need for Hazel to forget all sad things, and George feels the terrible shock to his brain that is administered to distract his above-average brain from thinking about what he has just seen.
George and Hazel are Harrison Bergeron's parents in Vonnegut's short story. Vonnegut writes that Hazel has normal intelligence, which means that she can only think of certain things in short bursts and does not have a long attention span. In contrast, George is above normal intelligence and is forced to wear a government-issued ear radio that continuously interrupts his thoughts by producing extremely loud sounds. George is also forced to wear a forty-seven-pound bag padlocked to his neck to suppress his above-average physical abilities. As George and his wife are watching handicapped ballerinas on their television, George begins thinking about his fourteen-year-old "abnormal son," who is currently in jail. Suddenly, Harrison Bergeron takes over the television station and declares that he is the country's emperor. After tearing his handicaps from his body, Harrison floats into the air with a beautiful ballerina and kisses her near the top of the ceiling. Unfortunately, Diana Moon Glampers shoots Harrison, and when her husband George returns to the living room with his beverage, Hazel cannot remember why she has been crying.
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