The Life of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a famous American author "known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction" (Kurt Vonnegut). Although Kurt Vonnegut is most widely known as a science fiction writer, what if his readers knew that he didn't consider himself that at all? He once said he "learned from the reviewer" that he was a science fiction writer. Regardless of what Kurt Vonnegut considers himself, he is one of the most sought-after science fiction writers in history. Plagued by the Great Depression, World War II, the suicide of his mother, and a long list of other dramatic events, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. lead a difficult life. Even though these events sound terrible, it is not unreasonable to call them the core of his literary success.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. lived a prosperous life until the time when the Great Depression struck the United States. Vonnegut was born on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Vonnegut was born into a family with two older siblings; he had a brother, Bernard Vonnegut, and a sister, Alice Vonnegut (Rider). In his early years, Vonnegut and his family lived well. "Vonnegut's early life was extremely privileged" (Rider). Although, this all took a drastic turn when the Great Depression struck in the late 1920s. Kurt Vonnegut's father especially took a hit. His father, Kurt Vonnegut Sr., "was a well-to-do architect whose fortunes, job opportunities, and mental health fell off drastically with the Great Depression" ("Kurt Vonnegut"). Although the depression did not affect Vonnegut's mother as much as it did his father, it was tough for her as well. Kurt Vonnegut's mother, Edith Lieber Vonnegut, was a daughter of a wealthy local family in Indianapolis, Indiana (Rider). Therefore, she was not as well conditioned for the minimal lifestyle she was forced to experience. As a child, Vonnegut took example from his Uncle Alex, who taught him to enjoy the finer, simpler things in life; this went on to influence the rest of his writing career. Kurt Vonnegut and his family lived a very average and simple life up to the point the Great Depression struck; from then on, life became hard, and this struggle built the strong foundation for Kurt Vonnegut's prosperous writing career.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. had a rough and rather difficult middle life. Vonnegut attended Shortridge High School in 1936; here, he was an editor for the school's newspaper, The Daily Echo.
Relationships and Interdependence in the Works of Kurt Vonnegut While on the surface Kurt Vonnegut's works appear to singularly contain the pessimistic views of an aging, black humorist, his underlying meanings reveal a much more sympathetic and hopeful glimpse of humanity that lends itself to eventual societal improvement. As part of Vonnegut's strategy for enhanced communal welfare, the satirist details in the course of his works potential artificial family groups to connect the masses and alleviate the lonely.
Kurt Vonnegut places his experiences and his views in the text. He begins the book by stating, “All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true...I’ve changed all of the names.” Viewing war as a sen...
Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, India and as a child he went through the Great Depression which hit Vonnegut's family very hard. Author William Rodney Allen in A Brief Biography of Kurt Vonnegut states, "When World War II broke out, Vonnegut was 16; at 20, he entered the army and was shipped off to Europe, where he almost immediately was captured by the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge," which tells us that he was a prisoner of war early on in his deployment. Vonnegut is moved to Dresden and survives the bombing accidently because the pris...
Wood, Karen and Charles. “The Vonnegut Effect: Science Fiction and Beyond.” The Vonnegut Statement. Vol. 5. 1937. 133-57. The GaleGroup. Web. 10 March. 2014.
Kurt Vonnegut’s fictional novel “Cat’s Cradle”, indirectly explores issues that parallels into topics such as religion, scientific/technological advancements, political power and much more. Vonnegut’s novel is narrated by a character named Jonah (John). He, Jonah, sets out to write an anthropological book based off of what key people were doing on the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Throughout Vonnegut’s novel it can clearly represents how a writer can become a very destructive person to society. As for this novel, it shows through the uses of parallels that a writer can become a very destructive person to society, these parallels are reflects to real world issues throughout his novel to show this claim, that a writer too can be a destructive person to society.
Like a dream filled with complex characters and situations which one is compelled to discuss and analyze the next day, Vonnegut uses dark humor to penetrate his reader's world. The Cornell medical student whom the narrator, Jonah, first interviews by mail turns out to be a midget. The brilliant nuclear physicist, the father of the atom bomb, is infantile. Writers and college professors are essential to human existence, and Boko-maru is a form of love that can happen anytime, anywhere, and with anyone.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana to Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. and Edith Lieber Vonnegut. He had an older brother named Bernard and an older sister named Alice. Kurt, Sr. was a well-known architect in the city and Edith was the daughter of a wealthy local family. The Vonneguts had been in Indianapolis for several generations, and were well-off, respected members of the community. Unlike the characters in most of his books, Vonnegut's early childhood was extremely privileged. It wasn't until the stock market crash of 1929 that he experienced the type of life that he would go on to write about in the future: the middle Middle Class.
Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, ironically on Veteran’s Day, 1922. He studied at Cornell University until his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. While in the army as an advanced infantry scout, he “was captured by the German army during the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944” (“Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.”, 2). His time as a prisoner of war was highly influential on his life and writing. Many of his characters would go through similar experiences as he did. During his time in the Dresden jail, he, unlike many others, survived “the Allied firebombing that destroyed that architectural treasure and killed between 70,000 and 180,000 civilians” (“Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.”, 20). On the topic of the infamously unsuccessful bombing, Vonnegut has said that "‘only one person benefited,’ he recalls today. ‘And that was me. I got five dollars for every man, woman, and child killed.’" (“Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.”, 2). His experience in Dresden during the firebombing inspired his novel Slaughterhouse-Five which catapulted him into literary fame. “During the 1960s Kurt Vonnegut emerged as one of the most influential and provocative writers of fiction in America” (Westbrook, 1).
Vonnegut's writing style throughout the novel is very flip, light, and sarcastic. The narrator's observations and the events occurring during the novel reflect a dark view of humanity which can only be mocked by humor. At the beginning of the novel the narrator is researching for a book he is writing. The book was to be about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the lives of the people who created the bomb. The narrator travels through the plot of the story, with characters flying in and out, in almost a daze. He is involved in events which are helplessly beyond his control, but which are inevitably leading to a destination at the end.
Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle I believe that Vonnegut uses Cat's Cradle as an allegorical tale about what will happen to the world if we are not careful with technology that has the ability to end life on this planet. He points out one of the qualities of humanity: that people make mistakes, thus poisoning our minds and encouraging a better world. One of the obvious ways that Vonnegut uses this book to "encourage a better world" would be by showing that the end of the world may come from an accidental release of technology. At the time when this book was written, nuclear war seemed to be almost a certainty.
The Lie, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is a story that stands as a mirror to reflect the ugly image of a condescending faction obsessed with grades and numbers, not actual learning. Even though it took place years ago, the sickening mind frames still exist in some of today’s people. They are namely the “elite group” or middle to upper class families. In the story, Doctor Remenzel is obsessed with Eli having a high standard of excellence, Eli getting special treatment because he is part of the higher group, and for those reasons, Eli is ashamed of himself, and terrified of telling his father and mother that he failed the entrance examinations. All of these things are examples of what happens in the arrogant sub culture which exists today.
Vonnegut deals a lot with fantasy in his book, Cat's Cradle. From the beginning, he talks about the religion that he follows: Bokonism. This is not a real religion, however he has rules, songs, scriptures, and opinions of a person that practices this fantasy religion. Within his description of this religion however is black humor as well. I think that by him making up this whole religion and an entire island of people who follow it, is in a way mocking today's religion and the way that people are dedicated to their beliefs.
For a novel to be considered a Great American Novel, it must contain a theme that is uniquely American, a hero that is the essence of a great American, or relevance to the American people. Others argue, however, that the Great American Novel may never exist. They say that America and her image are constantly changing and therefore, there will never be a novel that can represent the country in its entirety. In his novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut writes about war and its destructiveness. Vonnegut tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, an unlikely hero, mentally scarred by World War Two. Kurt Vonnegut explains how war is so devastating it can ruin a person forever. These are topics that are reoccurring in American history and have a relevance to the American people thus making Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five a Great American Novel.
... Vonnegut’s writing is unique because “the narrator offers a very different kind of war story—one which combines fact and fiction” (Jarvis 98). With the combination of fact and fiction, Vonnegut successfully connected events from WWII to the political references and societal conflicts during the Vietnam War. Works Cited Barringer, Mark, and Tom Wells. “The Anti-War Movement in the United States.”
Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols, and plot. However, a close examination reveals that both contain common themes and ideas. Examining and comparing the two novels and their presentation of different themes provides a unique insight into both the novels and the author – allowing the reader to gain a fuller understanding of Vonnegut’s true meaning.