The Satirical Writing of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

1591 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Examples of imagery in slaughterhouse five

The Satirical Writing of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Considered to be one of America's imaginative, original, and talented contemporary writers, Kurt Vonnegut has treated readers to such wonderful works of literature as Slaughterhouse-five and Breakfast of Champions. Most of his many novels, short stories, and plays criticize various wrongs of society. Vonnegut's work is often humorous and light-hearted, mixing settings of fantasy with everyday situations of life. Deeper themes concerning the welfare of society are clearly evident in his satire. Throughout this long career Vonnegut has used his unique style to effectively portray his outlook of the world.

Edith Vonnegut gave girth to her second son, Kurt, Jr.., on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She and her husband Kurt had been married nine years at the time os junior's birth. The couple's eldest child Bernard was born in 1914, and a daughter Alice followed three years later. Kurt, Sr. had built a reputation as a qualified architect and was able to support his family fairly well. Kurt, Jr.'s early education came at Orchard Public School NO. 43 in Indianapolis from 1928 to 1936. After grade school he moved on Shortridge High, where he served as a staff member for the Shortridge daily Echo, the school's newspaper. Here we see his early like for writing. Finding himself interested in biochemistry, Vonnegut, Jr. attended Cornell Daily Sun. A year later in 1943 the young Hoosier transferred to the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Studies there were cut short by his enlistment into the army to fight in World War II.

Vonnegut fought in the battle of the Bulge as a scout for the 106th US Infantry Division, after which he was taken prisoner by the Germans. H...

... middle of paper ...

...gan reading Slaughterhouse-five I knew I was going to enjoy it. I couldn't put the book down. Its unusual structure and organization made it more intriguing for me. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is clearly an accomplished writer. After I read the book, I could see that I would most likely enjoy more of his writing. Through my conducted research I understand how he is influenced by the world around him and what he says in his works.

Works Cited

http://copper.usc.indiana.edu/~briscott/vonnegut.html

"Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr." Discovering Authors, Gale Research, 1993.

Harris, Charles B. "Time, Uncertainty, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: A reading of Slaughterhouse- five'," in The Centennial review, Vol. XX, No. 3, 1976.

"Harrison Bergeron." Literature and Language, MCDOUGALL LITTELL, CO., 1992.

"Adam." Responding to Literature (yellow), MCDOUGALL LITTELL, CO., 1992.

Show More
Related

  • Free Slaughterhouse-Five Essays: Dresden

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    "In Slaughterhouse Five, -- Or the Children's Crusade, Vonnegut  delivers a complete treatise on the World War II bombing of Dresden. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is a very young infantry scout* who is captured in the Battle of the Bulge and quartered in a Dresden slaughterhouse where he and other prisoners are employed in the production of a vitamin supplement for pregnant women. During the February 13, 1945, firebombing by Allied aircraft, the prisoners take shelter in an underground meat locker. When they emerge, the city has been levelled and they are forced to dig corpses out of the rubble. The story of Billy Pilgrim is the story of Kurt Vonnegut who was captured and survived the firestorm in which 135,000 German civilians perished, more than the number of deaths in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Robert Scholes sums up the theme of Slaughterhouse Five in the New York Times Book Review, writing: 'Be kind. Don't hurt. Death is coming for all of us anyway, and it is better to be Lot's wife looking back through salty eyes than the Deity that destroyed those cities of the plain in order to save them.' The reviewer concludes that 'Slaughterhouse Five is an extraordinary success. It is a book we need to read, and to reread.' "The popularity of Slaughterhouse Five is due, in part, to its timeliness; it deals with many issues that were vital to the late sixties: war, ecology, overpopulation, and consumerism. Klinkowitz, writing in Literary Subversions.New American Fiction and the Practice of Criticism, sees larger reasons for the book's success: 'Kurt Vonnegut's fiction of the 1960s is the popular artifact which may be the fairest example of American cultural change. . . . Shunned as distastefully low-brow . . . and insufficiently commercial to suit the exploitative tastes of high-power publishers, Vonnegut's fiction limped along for years on the genuinely democratic basis of family magazine and pulp paperback circulation. Then in the late 1960s, as the culture as a whole exploded, Vonnegut was able to write and publish a novel, Slaughterhouse Five, which so perfectly caught America's transformative mood that its story and structure became best-selling metaphors for the new age. '"Writing in Critique, Wayne D. McGinnis comments that in Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut 'avoids framing his story in linear narration, choosing a circular structure.

    Read More

  • Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five as an Antiwar Novel

    2286 Words  | 5 Pages

    Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five as an Antiwar Novel. War can affect and inspire people to many degrees. Kurt Vonnegut was inspired by war to write Slaughterhouse Five. which is a unique book referred to sometimes as a science fiction or semi-autobiographical novel.

    Read More

  • Kurt Vonnegut - The Man and His Work

    5175 Words  | 11 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    War novels often depict a war hero facing off against an enemy, with a winner on the other side. However, Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five takes an opposite approach to the telling of a war story. The narrator uses the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, to display his own anti-war sentiment. Vonnegut’s style of writing as well as his characters help to portray the effect of war on individuals and society as a whole.

    Read More

  • Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war science fiction novel entitled, Slaughter House Five otherwise known as “The Children’s Crusade” or “A Duty Dance with Death,” is a classic example of Vonnegut’s eccentric and moving writing capabilities.Originally published in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five pays tribute to Vonnegut’s experiences in World War Two, as an advanced scout in the 106th infantry division, a prisoner of war and witness to the firebombing of Dresden on February 13th, 1945 in which 135,000 people were killed, making it the greatest man-caused massacre of all times.This novel illustrates the cruelties and violence of war along with the potential for compassion in human nature and all that it encompasses.

    Read More

  • Luxurious Gothic Cathedrals vs. Helping Those in Need

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rome and the Statue of Liberty in New York are all proof of the extraordinary celebrated artwork human kind has been able to do throughout several years. Now, I want to discuss another celebrated work of art that was quite popular in the medieval period, Gothic architecture. During the medieval period Gothic architecture was considered to be luxurious because of its exaggerated height given to buildings. Not only did it give height, it also had plenty of other characteristics like the pointed arch, the vaulted ceiling, and of course, plenty of windows where light could pass right through. For statesman historian, Abbot Suger, light was important. He believed light was a connection from heaven to Earth. The more light, the better. It was because of Abbot Suger that the admired Gothic style began along with more of his art program from about 1125-1144 (Inventing the Exegetical Stained-Glass Window: Suger, Hugh, and a New Elite Art, par 1). However, not everyone agreed with this extravagant style. When Gothic cathedrals began being built, French abbot, Bernard de Clairvaux made a judgment of his own. He explained that he did not see the need to be so extravagant when the money going to those glittering churches can go to a better use, the poor. I agree with Bernard; there is no need to be stylish when adorning cathedrals if there are better uses for that money.

    Read More

  • Slaughterhouse-Five Essay: Irony, Dark Humor, and Satire

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kurt Vonnegut uses a combination of dark humor and irony in Slaughterhouse-Five. As a result, the novel enables the reader to realize the horrors of war while simultaneously laughing at some of the absurd situations it can generate. Mostly, Vonnegut wants the reader to recognize the fact that one has to accept things as they happen because no one can change the inevitable.

    Read More

  • War and Heroism in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slaughterhouse Five is not a book that should be glanced over and discarded away like a dirty rag. Slaughterhouse Five is a book that should be carefully analyzed and be seen as an inspiration to further improve the well-being of mankind. Vonnegut makes it clear that an easy way to improve mankind is to see war not as a place where legends are born, but rather, an event to be avoided. Intelligent readers and critics alike should recognize Vonnegut’s work and see to it that they make an effort to understand the complexities behind the human condition that lead us to war.

    Read More

  • Comparing Themes in Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five

    1891 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Key Characteristics of Gothic Architecture

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    This investigation’s purpose is to analyze the changes in the architectural technique of the Romanesque style of architecture and come to a conclusion as to whether the shift in technique led to the rise of the more grandiose Gothic architecture in Europe. All art is inspired and the influences that caused the change in technique will also be investigated. In order to come to a conclusion I read books on the two styles I compared, studied some examples of each form of architecture through photographs, and listened to a few podcasts on the topic. Many of the sources were used were found online except for the book A Concise History of Western Architecture by R. Furneaux Jordan.

    Read More

  • America's Juvenile Justice System

    3741 Words  | 8 Pages

    The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.

    Read More

  • A Critical Comparison of Gothic Architecture in Italy, France and Germany

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Gothic style was an over exaggerated, awe-inspiring attempt to become closer to God. The worshipper was not only drawn to the altar, but experienced an ascent to heaven at the same time.1 These artistic gems are a grand testament to historical technology and the imaginative approach and vision of skilled craftsmen. The gothic style is one of the most extraordinary achievements in European history, typically characterized by slender, vertical piers, counterbalancing buttresses, vaulting, pointed arches and stained glass.

    Read More

  • How Did Gothic Art And Architecture Influence The Renaissance

    456 Words  | 1 Pages

    One example of the architecture from the Gothic period and the Renaissance changed was the construction of cathedrals. The Gothic cathedrals

    Read More

  • Gothic Art: The History And Development Of Gothic Architecture

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another aspect of Gothic architecture, that was heavily influenced by religion, is the implementation and utilization of the rose window. It depicts the final judgement of man and is part of the Gothic tradition in which biblical and historical stories were portrayed in stained glass and sculpture. At a time when most of the population was illiterate, these embellishments made biblical scripture available to everyone. [Pevsner, Nikolaus. 1963. An Outline of European Architecture. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books.]

    Read More

  • Cathedral Case Study

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    This first stage endured from the Gothic style's origin in 1120–50 to around 1200. The blend of all the previously stated auxiliary components into a reasonable style initially happened in the district around Paris, where prosperous urban populaces had adequate riches to manufacture the immense church buildings that typify the Gothic style. The most punctual surviving Gothic building was the nunnery of Saint-Denis in Paris, started in around 1140. Structures with correspondingly exact vaulting and chains of windows along the border were soon started with Notre-Dame de Paris (started 1163) and Laon Cathedral. At this point it had gotten to be popular to treat the inside sections and ribs as though each was made out of a pack of more thin parallel individuals. A progression of four discrete even levels or stories in the church building's inside were advanced, starting with a ground-level arcade, over which

    Read More

More about The Satirical Writing of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Open Document