The Kurt Vonnegut Mentality Kurt Vonnegut is an author that isn’t afraid to question and critique major establishments. Vonnegut question those intentions of religion, whether they are in reality working in good faith or in dehumanizing people and taking away from their ability to grow and have their own opinions. In his works, Vonnegut doesn’t steer clear from examining the pointlessness of warfare, the ability to escape your current reality, religion and the immoral aspects of science. Vonnegut’s short story Harrison Bergeron and his novels, Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle were all works that were inspired and reflected off events in his life. The decline of his mental health, his wife turning to Christianity, the growing political and
Imagine writing a piece of literature with the best intentions, just to have someone else destroy it out of spite. An act similar to this is considered disrespectful and could discourage most to reside from sharing their ideas with society again to prevent further humility. Kurt Vonnegut was a victim to this subjection. After Charles McCarthy, head of the school board at Drake High School, thought it was too corrupt for the education agenda provided to student's, Vonnegut's books were burned in a furnace. Taking this into consideration, Vonnegut responded to this denunciation by writing a letter containing uses of pathos to decry McCarthy’s actions towards his books.
Theodore Sturgeon, an American science-fiction and horror writer and critic, called Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle “appalling, hilarious, shocking and infuriating” and argued “it’s an annoying book and you must read it. And you better take it lightly, because if you don’t you’ll go off weeping and shoot yourself.” and this is a very accurate description of this Novel. Kurt Vonnegut has a very dark and twisted sense of humor in this book and it may not appeal to all people. You have to be a certain type of person that has the same sense of humor as Kurt Vonnegut to truly enjoy this humor and this novel.
“Call me Jonah. My parents did, or nearly did. They called me John.”(Chp1. 1 Vonnegut) At the beginning of the novel our protagonist is introduced, and anyone that knows the biblical text can notice, that of which Kurt possibly left for interpretation, the two biblical prophets, John the Baptist and John of Patmos.
Eternity of life is just a questionable idea. Can a being really live on forever, even though they are not alive and standing in front at the moment? This is just one philosophical point made by Kurt Vonnegut Jr in his book “ Slaughterhouse-5”. Vonnegut, having experienced the calamity of the Dresden bombing wrote this book to concede suffering, not to publicize or propagandize any kind of fallacy that this is an anti war book. This being said, Vonnegut scrutinizes many philosophical aspects of time, and memories which provides a being with a sense of strength to live through Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist of this book, and the events that occur to shape his character.
A visionary without talent In slaughter house five, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Kilgore Trout is identified as a symbolic figure. He is a character that doesn't have much talent but, when it comes to sharing his insight, he shows his knowledge and speaks on what he knows. In a sense he “ enlarges the scope” of the novel by showing the severity of certain war material. Kilgore Trout, an author of many books is described as a visionary without talent.
On December 7, 1941, the empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the American harbor at Hawaii known as Pearl Harbor, along with several other American provinces in the Pacific such as Guam and the Philippine islands. This vicious attack on American soil pulled America into the second World War [one of the most destructive and bloody wars the world remembers today]. Millions of young men enlisted into the Armed forces, one of them being Kurt Vonnegut at the age of 20. What Kurt Vonnegut did not know was that he was going to end up as a prisoner of war. Kurt Vonnegut’s experiences during this time in the hands of the Germans gave him a new outlook on the brutal conditions of warfare, the neglect that veterans were given after World War
In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, Vonnegut uses hyperbole to exaggerate this idea of equality, or a perfect society. Equality is the state of being equal in status, rights, and opportunities. The short story attempts to make all people equal by handicapping their special abilities. For example, if someone thinks more deeply than others they will stick a radio in their head so when their mind starts to wander, a loud noise will sound so they lose their train of thought. Is this idea of equality really achievable?
Throughout Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut intertwines reality and fiction to provide the reader with an anti-war book in a more abstract form. To achieve this abstraction, Kurt Vonnegut utilizes descriptive images, character archetypes, and various themes within the novel. By doing so, he created a unique form of literature that causes the reader to separate reality from falsehood in both their world, and in the world within Vonnegut’s mind. Vonnegut focuses a lot on the characters and their actions in “Slaughterhouse Five.”
In the story “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut, the contrast between science and religion relates to the lives of humans and the way society thinks. . In chapters 61 and 63 , Vonnegut describes that San Lorenzo is a nation of Christianity and Bokonon is outlawed and if anyone is caught practicing it, they will be killed. . Then, Vonnegut begins to describe a military base that has multiple signs of demons and demonic images which consequently makes the military base seem to be like hell. Also, when Papa Manzano, Mona Manzano, and Franklin Hoenikker get out of the car, they all begin to say the national anthem that was written by Lionel Boyd Johnson and Bokonon. This is ironic because in the previous chapters they outlawed any practice of