The Complexity Of Fate In 2bo2b, By Kurt Vonnegut

2BRO2B

Things that are bound to happen will eventually happen and that is what we humans tend to call “fate”. However, what if we lived in a world where we were able to control our own fate and attain our own destiny? Where we were able to set a limit for our own lives? Yet the question also remains whether this alternate world, too, has its own exceptions. This exception that has been perceived as the ideal balance within the society appears to be the equilibrium between life and death: where the life of one being is equivalent to the death of another. This alternate world has become a reality in the short story, “2BRO2B”, written by Kurt Vonnegut from 1962, which shows us the grotesque reality behind this so-called “flawless world”. In the

The painter is quite an interesting character since he plays an important role in the story, however he is not the main character. The painter’s name was never mentioned in the story, but rather only his age. The subsequent quotation shows the painters profile:

“A sardonic old man, about two hundred years old, sat on a stepladder, painting a mural he did not like.”

Here we also get to know that he is immortal and how he is not pleased with the painting he is obligated to paint. The painter also responds sorrowfully to the title of the mural, “The Happy Garden Of Life”, this shows us how the painter is also aware of the fact that it does not resemble the world they live in, so it is a metaphor for the world they live in. During the story we could also see how the painter does not share the same mindset as the others, for instance the meaning of life. This could be substantiated through the following quotation:

“The painter's face curdled with scorn. "You think I'm proud of this daub?" he said. "You think this is my idea of what life really looks like?"”

The painter has his own set of beliefs. He believes that the world is in need of mess rather than this “order” that is created by the