The Doctrines of Kurt Vonnegut
The writing of Kurt Vonnegut exhibits perception without
restriction and imagination without limitation. It surpasses mountains of
ignorance and rivers of innocence to extend emotions for society to
sympathize with reality. He incorporates his knowledge and view-points
into a variety of literary genres for everyone to learn of his inquiries
and philosophies. To draw readers into his sphere of influence, Kurt
Vonnegut administers an inflection on the present to state other tenses
(Schatt 148). From government to technology, he applies his ideas to all
subject matters, allowing all readers to comprehend his beliefs (Nichol
602). The literature of Kurt Vonnegut coincides with his sentiments
appertaining to human substantiality, altruistic love, and
Post-existentialism.
A primary interrogation Vonnegut predominately accentuates is the
meaning of human existence; "What is the purpose of life?" (Holland 54)
Man must feel that he is "serving some purpose," that his life has
substance and significance (55). To find an answer to this question,
Vonnegut unwinds into the pages of his works, man's search for
substantiality, and his attempt at changing his destiny to obtain answers
through power.
Human nature possesses man to hunger for control, and without
dominance, man feels purposeless. By making him "powerless to alter his
destiny in any way," Vonnegut stresses an exploration for usefulness, and
the question of life's poignancy is seen with much more clarity (Holland
54). Human predicament is that "man attempts to make order out of chaos.
The universe is absurd, unintelligible, but man must pretend that he
understands it and must try to exert some control over it" to eliminate
futility (54).
In his short story, "Adam," the protagonist, Heinz Knechtmann,
questions the importance of life. His first emotion at fatherhood is
extreme happiness, but other fathers do not feel the same exuberance.
Because others feel that new life has no importance, he feels that he must
as well.
They don't care. They're all too busy, busy, busy to
notice life, to feel anything about it. A baby is born.
What could be duller? Who would be so stupid as to
talk about it, to think there was anything important or
interesting about it? There are too many of us, and we
are all too far apart. Another Knechtmann is born,
another O'Leary, another Sousa. Who cares? Why should
anyone care? What difference does it make? None
(Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House 292).
At first Heinz tries to alter the feelings of the other fathers. He
stresses the importance of a new born baby, but because Heinz is powerless
to change society's view of life, he accepts it.
Vonnegut believes that perfect happiness can be achieved when man
discovers "that someone or something somewhere wants us to like it here
[on Earth]" (Vonnegut, Fates Worse Than Death 15). It is when this bliss
is not reached that man decides his powerlessness. In his novel, The
Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut satirizes this solution of happiness and
meaningfulness. He suggests that "we are part of a plan by Tralfamadorians
to deliver a missing part of Salo's spaceship" (Holland 21). Salo,
prestige diplomat of the Tralfamadorians, is shipwrecked in space. To save
their envoy, Constant, the Martian in charge of rescuing him, manipulates
Earthlings into believing that their purpose on Earth is to help him save
Salo. In order to communicate with the ambassador, the Tralfamadorians
trick the Earthlings into appreciating human existence by creating lavish
landmarks.
Stonhenge was not the only message old Salo had received.
There had been four others, all of them written on Earth.
The Great Wall of China means in Tralfamadorian, when
viewed from above: "Be patient, we haven't forgotten
about you." The Golden House of the Roman Emperor
Nero meant: "We are going the best we can." The
meaning of the Moscow Kremlin when it was first
walled was: "You will be on your way before you
know it." The meaning of the Palace of the League
of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, is "Pack us your
things, and be ready on short notice" (Vonnegut, The
Sirens of Titan 271-272).
After Earthlings discover that the Spacelings tricked them for their own
benefit, man is completely and utterly puzzled and powerless to answer the
meaning of life (Schatt 36).
Vonnegut implies, in his works, the answer to: "What is the
purpose of life?" (Holland 21) "The only purpose of life is life. What
people are for is to be the best human beings they possibly can. There is
no need to look for meaning or purpose beyond that; existence is enough in
itself" (55).
Life is not thoroughly meaningless, and one purpose for survival
is love. Affection is treasured and expressed in many ways. One incredible
display of devotion is love for the sake of others, "unselfish love"
(Holland 55). Vonnegut gives self-denial "more feeling to something than
God himself would give to it" (Mayo 42). He creates a "soap-opera set" and
slowly introduces sensitivity, as well as conflict, to the summary, while
insisting on the "essential decency" that "characterize human
relationships" (Mayo 42; "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." 441).
In his short story, "A Long Walk to Forever," Vonnegut has his
main character, Newt, leave the army without permission and arrive at the
house of Catharine, his childhood love, in full military attire,
immediately creating a "soap-opera set" (Mayo 42). The conflict begins
after they proceed on their long walk. Catharine is engaged, and Newt
still has immense feelings for her. By making Catharine betray her vow by
loving him rather than her fiancee, Newt was corrupting her mind. After
realizing this, Newt knew he had to administer action. His time with
Catharine had passed, and as much as it hurt him, he understood that he
had to give her up. "'Dream of Henry Stewart Chasens,' he said. 'What?'
she said. 'Dream of your wonderful husband-to-be'" (Vonnegut, Welocome to
the Monkey House 53). Even though this act of good faith made Newt lose
his chances with Catharine forever, the inner love of friendship grew
within, making him one of Vonnegut's "volunteer firemen," one who is
"content to aid others in their own small world... a saint" (Nichol 602).
The "selfless[ness]" present in "A Long Walk to Forever" demonstrates
Vonnegut's sentiments "about the possibilities of love" (Holland 55).
Another demonstration of heartfelt emotion is in Vonnegut's short
story, "EPICAC." EPICAC was a "super computing machine" that aided in wars
(Schatt 122). As its technician playfully alters strange dialogue codes
into his system one day, EPICAC begins to learn of love and of the beauty
of the technician's girlfriend, Pat Kilgallen (122). All of this
overloading created a bedlam in EPICAC's system, and "the computer quite
logically falls in love with her; it writes beautiful love poems for the
girl; and the human shamelessly pirates them as his own" (122). When the
machine questions the technicians injustice, the operators response was
that "machines are built to serve men... women can't love machines," man
is indestructible and made of "protoplasm;" it is "predetermined and
inevitable" that humans will only love other humans (Schatt 122; Vonnegut,
Welcome to the Monkey House 282). EPICAC, not wanting to stand in the way
of Pat's happiness, short circuits himself, leaving a final suicide note
saying that it does not "want to be a machine and think about war," it
wants to "be made out of protoplasm and last forever so Pat can love it"
(Schatt 122). After deciphering the self-destruction letter, the operator
knew that his good friend had sacrificed everything for him and Pat.
EPICAC loved and lost, but he bore me no grudge. I
shall always remember him as a sportsman and a
gentleman. Before he departed this vale of tears, he did
all he could to make our marriage a happy one. EPICAC
gave me anniversary poems for Pat- enough for the next
500 years (Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House 284).
EPICAC knew that fate did not allow him and Pat to be together. His
happiness came from the happiness he gave to her and sacrificed for his
best friend.
Feelings and beliefs do not necessarily need to come from
emotions, and in many of Vonnegut's work, it comes f
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