2br02b Kurt Vonnegut Analysis

Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “2BR02B” a doctor named Dr. Hitz came up with the idea of population control to solve the world’s problems. A man named Edward Wehling Jr. is in the hospital because his wife is having triplets. In order for the family to keep the babies, they must find three volunteers willing to die to maintain the population, because the government is controlling the right for the citizens to have however many babies they want to have. The power of the government is described by prohibiting overpopulation.

The government enforces the law by limiting the number of offspring, taking away individuality, and encouraging suicides.

Body

Initially, the government limits the amount of offspring that a family can have. Dr. Hitz explains

that the overpopulation law is required because there is not enough food for everyone: “‘In the year 2000,’ said Dr. Hitz, ‘before scientists stepped in and laid down the law, there wasn't even enough drinking water to go around, and nothing to eat but seaweed—and still people insisted on their right to reproduce like jackrabbits. And their right, if possible, to live forever’” (Vonnegut 3). If the population was controlled, then there will be a sufficient amount of food for the citizens. A society with a large population could cause serious damage to the food supply because there are so many people to feed. According to this article “Overpopulation: Pakistan’s biggest problem,” Because of horrendous overpopulation, there is a shortage of everything. Actually there is no shortage of anything; there are just too many people. You see, if there was no rain, there might be a shortage of wheat” (Pg. 1). The food supply cannot maintain because the population is too large. (Come Back)
Next, the government takes away the individuality amongst the citizens. The citizens are forced to obey the overpopulation law even if they do not agree with it. Wehling is a victim of the government control. In order for his babies to live, he must find volunteers willing to die so there will be space. Wehling is forced to let his grandfather kill himself so that the family can let one of their babies live:“‘All I have to do is pick out which one of the triplets is going to live, then deliver my maternal grandfather to the Happy Hooligan, and come back here with a receipt’” (Vonnegut 3). This is an act of government control because Wehling does not want his grandfather to die, but he does not have another option if he wants the baby to live. The only way the citizens can express individuality is by killing themselves. Wehling wants all of his babies to live, but the law prohibits it. In the story, Wehling expressed how he felt about the law by killing Dr. Hitz, Leora Duncan, and himself. By doing this, Wehling created enough room for all of his babies to live. “Wehling shot Dr. Hitz dead. ‘There's room for one—a great big one,’ he said” (Vonnegut 4). This is an act of individuality, because Wehling chose to rebel against the government’s views. (come back)
In the end, the government encourages the society to commit suicide in order for the population control to be successful.