The Mind of Kurt Vonnegut
analytical Essay
957 words
The Mind of Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is one of the preeminent writers of the later
half of the twentieth century. His works are all windows into his
mind, a literary psychoanalysis. He examines himself as a cog in
the corporate machine in "Deer in the Works"; as a writer through
the eyes of Kilgore Trout in several works; and most importantly,
as a prisoner of war in Slaughterhouse-Five.
Vonnegut created short stories and novels that dealt with
events in his life. One of the most obvious self examinations is
in "Deer in the Works". The short story is based on his
experiences as a publicist at the General Electric Company
Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York. "Deer in the Works"
takes place over two days in the life of David Potter as he
begins his employment at the Ilium Works of the Federal Apparatus
Corporation. He is assigned to cover a deer trapped in a remote
corner of the Works. Potter gets lost in the Works himself and
feels just as trapped as the deer. He eventually frees the deer
and escapes the works to return to his newspaper. Vonnegut felt
trapped like Potter does, and left General Electric in 1951 to
write full time.
Before World War II, Vonnegut was enrolled at Cornell
University studying biochemistry. He was surrounded by scientists
and machines and as a result, his first literary works were based
on that influence. Vonnegutøs early writings were not accepted as
serious, mainstream literature due to their scientific nature. He
was considered a science fiction writer by literary critics. That
label caused him to be largely ignored.
He created the character Kilgore Trout, a science fiction
writer, to...
... middle of paper ...
...hort-term events like that. Dresden was
astonishing, but experiences can be astonishing
without changing you" (Reed 776).
Despite these claims to the contrary, the experiences at Dresden
had always played a large part in his writings.
His experiences have always shaped what Kurt Vonnegut has
written. He said to his brother, Bernard, that he wrote for an
audience of one, his dead sister; but he truly wrote for himself.
He wrote about his experiences as a prisoner in
Slaughterhouse-Five, as a publicist in a major corporation in
"Deer in the Works", and as a writer through the character
Kilgore Trout. Vonnegut examined his thoughts through the eyes of
David Potter, Kilgore Trout, and Billy Pilgrim. His works are all
deeply personal windows into the psyche of Kurt Vonnegut.
In this essay, the author
- Explains kurt vonnegut's works are all windows into his mind, a literary psychoanalysis.
- Analyzes how david potter's "deer in the works" is based on his experiences as a publicist at the general electric company research laboratory in schenectady.
- Analyzes how vonnegut felt trapped like potter, and left general electric in 1951 to write full-time.
- Explains that vonnegut's early writings were not accepted as serious, mainstream literature due to their scientific nature. he created the character kilgore trout, a science fictionwriter.
- Analyzes how vonnegut used kilgore trout to explore his thoughts on being labeled inaccurately and as a writer living in near obscurity.
- Explains that in 1975, a novel entitled "venus on the half shell" was published by "kilgore trout".
- Analyzes how vonnegut stopped using kilgore trout to examine his thoughts onobscurity and science fiction. he was captured by the germans during the battle of the bulge in world war ii.
- Narrates how vonnegut was sheltered in an underground meat locker while the alliesunleashed one of the most relentless air raids
- Explains that vonnegut, along with other prisoners, was forced to dig through the rubble to find bodies and bring them to funeral pyres. the shock of the bombing could not befully dealt with until 1968-twenty three years later.
- Analyzes how the protagonist of slaughterhouse-five, billy pilgrim, is used by vonnegut to examine what happened in dresden.
- Analyzes how slaughterhouse-five helped kurt vonnegut lay to rest some of the memories that had haunted him since 1945.
- Opines that vonnegut's importance of dresden in his life was exaggerated because his book about it became a best seller.
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's dresden experiences played a large part in his writings. his experiences shaped what he has written.
Related
- analytical
- Insanity In The Things They Carried By O. Vonnegutanalytical essayThere is a fine line between sanity and insanity, a line that can be crossed or purposefully avoided. The books The Things They Carried and Slaughterhouse-Five both explore the space around this line as their characters confront war. While O’Brien and Vonnegut both use repetition to emphasize acceptance of fate, their characters’ psychological and internal responses to war differ significantly. In The Things They Carried, the narrator and Norman Bowker carry guilt as evidence of sanity. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim and the innkeepers carry on with life in order to perpetuate sanity. Both authors develop a distinct theme of responding in the face of the insanity of war.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the books the things they carried and slaughterhouse-five explore the space around this line as their characters confront war.
- Analyzes how o'brien stresses the idea that, despite moving on to stay sane, one will still feel a heavy weight on their shoulders following traumatic events.
- Analyzes how repetition is an act of poise, a balance between crazy and almost crazy, knowing without going, there it is, which meant be cool, let it ride.
- Analyzes how the narrator is trying to prevent the natural drift towards entry into insanity that comes as a result of war.
- Analyzes how a soldier, norman bowker, carries internal baggage that follows him his entire life. he is plagued by this memory and must face the uncertainty of returning to people he once knew with shame.
- Analyzes how the repetition of certain aspects of stories within the things they carried and efforts to maintain poise show a similarity to slaughterhouse-five and vonnegut’s character billy pilgrim.
- Narrates how billy was enchanted by the architecture of the city. merry amoretti wove garlands above windows.
- Analyzes how billy, with his memories of the future, knew that the city would be smashed to smithereens and then burned-in about thirty more days.
- Compares the phrase "so it goes" to o'brien's "there it is". both phrases are used repeatedly in order to highlight the thought that whatever happens will happen.
- Analyzes how balance is sought via the camaraderie in the things they carried, while billy keeps his balance by creating unrealistic fantasies and focusing on a tralfamadorian idea.
- Analyzes how o'brien and vonnegut point out the emotional stress that war's insanity can put on someone and how it impacts their will to move on.
- Analyzes how both novels show the crossing of the fine line into actual insanity. in the things they carried, rat kiley goes crazy over curt lemon's death.
- Analyzes how o 'brien and vonnegut drive home the point of how characters cope regardless of what their reactions look like.
1351 wordsRead More - Human Fallibility Exposed in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat's Cradleanalytical essayOscar Wilde, an acclaimed Irish Poet, novelist, dramatist and critic once aptly commented, “Men become old, but they never become good”. The philosophical aspect of this quote relies on the basis that human beings are inherently malevolent. Through his pessimistic perspective, Wilde clearly captures the ill-disposed mindset of mankind. Moreover, there are various deductive arguments that discredit the optimistic depiction of human nature. One of the prime examples can be found in Kurt Vonnegut’s literature. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat's Cradle, through the illustration of his characters, the author symbolizes the four elements of human fallibility.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how oscar wilde, an acclaimed irish poet, novelist, dramatist and critic, captures the ill-disposed mindset of mankind through his pessimistic perspective.
- Analyzes how vonnegut satirizes that innocence does not necessarily equal harmlessness.
- Analyzes how lowe crosby embodies the concept of arrogance through his belief in brutalizing and killing people for minor crimes and reprobate business schemes.
- Analyzes how hazel crosby symbolizes the dangers of dogmatic religious and national identity in cat's cradle.
- Analyzes kurt vonnegut's analysis of negative aspects of human nature.
1029 wordsRead More - Kurt Vonnegut Analysisanalytical essayBorn on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kurt Vonnegut is viewed as a standout amongst the most powerful American authors of the twentieth century. He was recognized as a writer who mixed sci-fi and humor. Vonnegut made his own remarkable world in each of his books and filled them with peculiar characters, for example, the outsider race known as the Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse-Five (1969). In the wake of studying at Cornell University from 1940 to 1942, Kurt Vonnegut enrolled in the U.S. Armed forces (“Kurt Vonnegut”).
In this essay, the author
- Describes kurt vonnegut as a standout amongst the most powerful american authors of the twentieth century. he mixed sci-fi and humor.
- Narrates how kurt vonnegut fought in the battle of the bulge in 1942, but was captured and a prisoner of war. he married his better half, jane marie cox, and had three children.
- Narrates how george and hazel bergeron have a child, harrison, and the government took him away when he was only fourteen years of age.
- Analyzes how the ballet is interfered with when one of the dancers has a critical government news announcement to make.
- Analyzes how vonnegut puts emphasis on society and how it revolves around television by staging the story in front of a tv. the government uses the television to broadcast important information.
- Analyzes how the danger of total equality ties into the story as well as the power of television.
- Argues that achieving true and comprehensive equality would require violating personal liberty, as the talented and capable must be prevented from using their advantages to get ahead.
- Analyzes how harrison bergeron shares a lot in prevalence with orwell’s animal farm.
- Compares animal farm and harrison bergeron because they both prove that there is no such thing as an equal society.
- Analyzes how harrison bergeron shows how television can be used as a tool to brainwash citizens and how it can distract people from realizing what is happening right in front of their eyes.
1424 wordsRead More - The Doctrines of Kurt Vonnegutanalytical essayThe 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
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's writing exhibits perception without restriction and imagination without limitation. it transcends mountains ofignorance and rivers of innocence to extend emotions for society tosympathize with reality.
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's literature coincides with his sentiments about human substantiality, altruistic love, and philosophies.
- Analyzes how vonnegut predominately accentuates the meaning of human existence; "what is the purpose of life?"
- Analyzes how vonnegut stresses an exploration for usefulness, and the question of life's poignancy is seen with more clarity.
- Analyzes how the protagonist, heinz knechtmann, in his short story, "adam," questions the importance of life.
- Explains that other fathers don't feel the same exuberance. they feel that new life has no importance, so they mustas well.
- Opines that there are too many of us, who would be so stupid as to think there was anything important or interesting about it.
- Analyzes how knechtmann, o'leary, and sousa are all too far apart. who cares?
- Analyzes how heinz tries to alter the feelings of the other fathers by stressing the importance of a new born baby, but accepts it because he is powerless to change society's view of life.
- Analyzes how vonnegut satirizes this solution of happiness and meaningfulness in his novel, thesirens of titan.
- Analyzes how the tralfamadorians manipulate earthlings into believing that their purpose on earth is to save salo.
- Explains the meaning of the great wall of china in tralfamadorian.
- Analyzes the meaning of the moscow kremlin when it was first established.
- Explains that the palace of the league in geneva, switzerland, is "pack us your message."
- Narrates how the spacelings tricked them for their own.
- Opines that man is completely and utterly puzzled and powerless to answer the meaning of life.
- Analyzes how vonnegut gives self-denial more feeling to something than god himself would give to it.
- Analyzes how vonnegut introduces sensitivity, as well as conflict, to the summary, while insisting on the "essential decency" that characterize human relations.
- Analyzes how newt created a "soap-opera set" after catharine betray her vow by loving him rather than her fiancee.
- Analyzes how newt lost his chances with catharine forever, but the inner love of friendship grew, making him one of vonnegut's "volunteer firemen."
- Analyzes how "a long walk to forever" demonstrates vonnegut's sentiments about the possibilities of love. another demonstration of heartfelt emotion is in "epicac."
- Analyzes how overloading created a bedlam in epicac's system. the computer falls in love with pat kilgallen, writes beautiful love poems for her, and the human shamelessly pirates them as his own.
- Analyzes how epicac, not wanting to stand in the way of pat's happiness, short circuits himself, leaving a final suicide noteaying that it doesn't "want to be
- Narrates how epicac loved and lost, but bore no grudge. he sacrificed everything for him and pat.
- Opines that they will always remember him as a sportsman and gentleman. he did all he could to make our marriage happy.
- Opines that epicac knew that fate did not allow him and pat to be together.
1418 wordsRead More - Choice and Direction in the Writings of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.analytical essayChoice and Direction in the Writings of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Satire in American literature has evolved in response to the development of the American mind, its increasing use of free will, and the context that surrounds this notion. Satire is the biting wit that authors (labeled satirists) bring to their literature to expose and mock the follies of society. Satirists can be divided, however, into two groups with very different purposes. One type mocks simply for the enjoyment of mocking. These satirists are found almost everywhere in the world, on every street corner, household, and television sitcom.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that satirists expose and mock society's follies with biting wit, while the second type is a strong force in the world of literature.
- Analyzes how vonnegut identifies societal problems that are clogging humanity's sense of direction. the american attitude of dwelling on the worst events of life is contributing to this loss of spirit.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's wantonly satirical novel timequake is devoted to the concept of free will and its dominance in nature.
- Narrates how they had to get back to 2001 the hard way, minute by minute, hour by hour, year by year, betting on 2001.
- Describes the reasons why a wrong horse was married, married the wrong person, and got the clap again.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's premise in timequake contributes to americans' poor use of free will, or lack of direction.
- Opines that we are chemically engineered to live in folk societies, just like fish, and there aren't anymore.
- Analyzes how kilgore trout harped on the human need for extended families, and i still do, because it is so obvious that we, as humans, need them as much as we need proteins and carbohydrates.
- Analyzes how vonnegut urges the public to understand that their job is to use the free will that they have to move forward.
- Analyzes how the old man sits on a rock to rest while satellites take pictures of the earth from 25,000 miles up as it revolves through space, covered by swirling clouds.
- Analyzes vonnegut's point that america is moving too fast and not paying attention to the state of the people, or at least the individual. technology is worthless when people do not understand how to use it.
- Opines that vonnegut believes that the government should enforce values that make individuals feel better and more confident about themselves.
- States article xxix: every adult who needs it shall be given meaningful work to do, at a living wage.
- Explains that every person, upon reaching statutory puberty, shall be declared an adult in a solemn public ritual, during which he or she must welcome his or her new responsibilities in the community.
- Opines that every effort shall be made to make every person feel that they will be sorely missed when they are gone.
- Explains that vonnegut's proposed additions to the constitution have a different focus than most amendments contained in it today.
- Opines that they take vonnegut's solutions for american society seriously, including his proposed amendment to the constitution.
- Analyzes how the tralfamadorian aliens in slaughterhouse five, who are abducted by billy pilgrim, have a solution to alter the style in which humans think.
- Opines that change, courage, and wisdom always tell the difference.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's suggested method of thinking, metaphorically delivered by the tralfamadorians, is the dominant theme of the novel.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's use of fashionable issues makes it seem like he was running for office rather than trying to write a novel.
- Opines that vonnegut's books are widely accepted among all age groups and have a large following of fans that wish to hear him speak.
- Explains that to see bright-colored covers flashing up and down rows and aisles was to fancy that these were book talismans, like mao's thoughts, or the bible.
- Analyzes grossman's comment on the atmosphere of kurt vonnegut jr.
- Describes the contents of the chelsea house library of literary criticism.
- Cites litz, a. walton, american writers: a collection of literary biographies, supplement 2, part 2.
- Cites the chelsea house library of literary criticism, new york, pp. 7-8.
2862 wordsRead More - Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five"analytical essayI. Author- Kurt Vonnegut’s background had an endless influence upon his writing. In his early years, Vonnegut was a private in the 106th infantry division in World War II. He and five scouts were caught behind enemy lines, and then captured.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how vonnegut's background had an endless influence upon his writing. he was a private in the 106th infantry division in world war ii and witnessed the fire-bombing of dresden in 1945.
- Analyzes how the story begins with vonnegut writing in first person and is set in 1968. billy spends most of 1944-1945 in germany in the war.
- Analyzes how vonnegut, the narrator, explains his relations to the war and his experiences in dresden. the rest of the book is in third person omniscient.
- Analyzes the destructiveness of a massacre in vonnegut's book. the narrator is trying to get the point across that there is nothing good to say about it.
- Analyzes how the tralfamadorians know that free will is an illusion, and humans mistakenly think they can make their own decisions because they only see in third dimension.
- Analyzes how billy is dealing with post-traumatic stress caused by the war. he witnessed and experienced so many traumatizing things that the rest of his life was affected by it.
- Narrates how billy pilgrim grows up to be a gangly, awkward man, though he does exceptionally well in high school. he is drafted into the army and deployed to the battle of bulge.
- Describes how roland weary, a selfish, glory-seeking man that saved billy's life, dies and asks paul lazzaro to kill billy. they then travel to dresden, where they processed malt syrup.
- Describes how billy returns to ilium, finishes optometry school, and gets engaged to the owner of the school's daughter. after having another nervous breakdown, he admits himself to a mental institution and marries valencia.
- Analyzes how billy returns to ilium, where he finds the time suitable to tell the world of his experiences and his knowledge.
- Analyzes vonnegut's failure to write the novel, his sense of despair, and conviction that it is a lousy novel.
- Explains kurt vonnegut's book, "slaughterhouse-five book notes summary," on wikipedia.
- Analyzes the critical essay by joyce carol oates on kurt vonnegut's summary.
1327 wordsRead More - Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Fiveanalytical essayKurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five Great artists have the ability to step back from society and see the absurd circus that their world has become. Such satirists use their creative work to reveal the comic elements of an absurd world and incite a change in society; examples include Stanley Kubrick’s film, Dr. Strangelove, and Joseph Heller’s novel, Catch-22. Both works rose above their more serious counterparts to capture the critical voice of a generation dissatisfied with a nation of warmongers. Completing this triumvirate of anti-war classics is Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's slaughterhouse-five is one of the most effective arguments against war in the american canon of literature.
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's life began on november 11, 1922 in indiana. he enlisted in the united states army and fought in world war ii.
- Analyzes how vonnegut returned home from the war and worked with general electric before striking success with his writing. his work landed him moderate success and a three-book contract.
- Analyzes how vonnegut saw a "mountain of dead people" in dresden. he grappled with these thoughts of the dresden problem and the fact that "there is nothing intelligent to say about an massacre."
- Analyzes how vonnegut's writing takes a cynical approach to science, questioning the validity of humanity’s current lust for scientific development and conquest.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's book, god bless you, mr. rosewater, captures the view that science leads to devastation.
- Analyzes how rosewater, a fan of sci-fi writer kilgore trout in slaughterhouse-five embodies the message dominant in vonnegut’s canon of work, disagrees with the validity of science fiction when it comes to solving the problems technology creates.
- Analyzes how vonnegut focuses on the dresden firebombing and how its destruction symbolizes the wrong turns people take when combining technology and war.
- Analyzes how vonnegut satirizes science fiction and calls for a return to love that was lost with the advent of innovation, commerce, and warfare.
- Analyzes how vonnegut transforms war into a satirical farce with irony and absurdity.
- Analyzes how vonnegut places mundane or comic details against the greater horrors of combat to satirically undercut the glory of war.
- Analyzes how vonnegut emphasizes the absurdity of war by arguing that "babies" populate the armies, and that these groups then set out on the "children's crusade."
- Analyzes how vonnegut highlights the absurdity of war by drawing attention to certain acts of civility within the context of chaos and destruction.
- Analyzes how vonnegut uses satire to mimic billy pilgrim's use of becoming unstuck in time; both provide order in chaos and allow a degree of carefree humor in the midst of depression.
- Analyzes how one of the novel's satiric moments arrives early in the story when vonnegut discusses undertaking the task of his dresden novel, an attack of which he said, "there hadn't been much publicity."
- Analyzes how vonnegut's power to view the dreadful with an absurdist’s eye turns a potential moralistic tale into biting satire.
- Analyzes the contrasting relationship between billy pilgrim and kurt vonnegut in slaughterhouse-five.
- Analyzes how vonnegut implies that billy's resignation is present in all human beings, and that he suffers from an acute case.
- Analyzes how vonnegut adopts a perspective in direct opposition to billy's, which is prevalent since both billy and kurt experienced the same atrocities in world war ii.
- Analyzes how vonnegut separates himself from his protagonist in order to emphasize the difference between his active hope for reform and billy's resigned contentment with the future.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's resignation is inciting a moral outcry from the reader. death represents human fears and our lives culminate with its occurrence.
- Analyzes how vonnegut addresses the problem of death with his protagonist, billy pilgrim, who realizes his limitations and becomes unstuck in time in slaughterhouse-five.
- Analyzes how billy pilgrim's escapism traces back to vonnegut’s earlier novels, where ironic religions serve to contain chaos for the believer and examine american culture and society.
- Analyzes how billy's escapist philosophy arises throughout his life, most notably in the framed prayer on his wall: "god grant methe serenity to acceptthe things i cannot change.
- Analyzes how alcoholics anonymous suggests billy's dependency on traditional time and his desire to overcome this dependency and sober up. vonnegut might argue that billy’s unhealthy dependency is his concept of time.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's analysis of the human condition emphasizes the importance of a correct interpretation and calls for his novel to be treated in the same way.
- Analyzes how vonnegut, hopeful for a societal transformation, provides slaughterhouse-five with one sound of hope.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's slaughterhouse-five confronts the human condition that causes war through satire and absurdity.
- Cites abadi-nagy, zoltan, festa, conrad, freese, peter, and harris, charles b.
- Cites klinkowitz, jerome, and lawler, donald l., eds. vonnegut in america.
- Describes merrill, robert, and scholl's critical essays on kurt vonnegut. reed, peter j. and marc leeds.
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's god bless you, mr. rosewater, slaughterhouse-five, and breakfast of champions is based on literature, ideas and the (re)invention of reality.
- Cites tanner, tony, vees-gulani, susanne, and vonnegut, kurt.
3845 wordsRead More - Kurt Vonnegut - The Man and His Workanalytical essayKurt Vonnegut – The Man and His Work One of the best, most valuable aspects of reading multiple works by the same author is getting to know the author as a person. People don't identify with Gregor Samsa; they identify with Kafka. Witness the love exhibited by the many fans of Hemingway, a love for both the texts and the drama of the man. It's like that for me with Kurt Vonnegut, but it strikes me that he pulls it off in an entirely different way. Kafka's work is a reaction to his mental anguish, which is kind of like Vonnegut, who has dealt with the bulk of his personal hardships throughout his career, but those hardships are not his sole motivation.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes hume, kathryn, and robert merrill's critical essays on kurt vonnegut.
- Analyzes how kurt vonnegut's work is a reaction to his mental anguish, which is similar to that of hemingway.
- Analyzes kurt vonnegut, jr.'s motivations for writing and striving to get his writing read, and the quest for "soul-deep fun."
- Opines that robert weide is writing a screen adaptation of sirens of titan and kurt is still speaking, touring, and doing his visual art.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's early life has shaped his writing. his pessimistic outlook is influenced by his father, his mother, and his uncle alex.
5175 wordsRead More - Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughter House Fiveanalytical essaySlaughter House Five Expaination Based on Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s book by the same name, Slaughterhouse Five has been described by many as one of the best anti-war novels of the 20th Century. In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim finds unstuck in time jumping between several periods of his life. From his experience as a prisoner of war in World War II to his suburban family life in the 1950s and 1960s, and his experience as a human specimen in an alien zoo on a distant planet, Billy seemingly has no control over these transitions, many seemingly coming without warning, others may be provoked by events at hand. As disconcerting as the non-linear format may seem to some viewers, the nature of Billy's jump in time are not nearly as random as they appear.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that slaughterhouse five is one of the best anti-war novels of 20th century. billy pilgrim finds himself unstuck in time jumping between several periods of his life.
- Analyzes the non-linear format of billy's jump in time. each of the three intertwined story lines proceed in a linear fashion with the events from one segment leading into the next segment from the same period.
- Analyzes how billy's traumatic experience during world war ii has greatly influenced the rest of his existence. the horrors of war have given billy a unique perspective on human nature.
- Analyzes how billy's random sequence of events is his own coping mechanism for dealing with the traumatic events that shaped his life.
- Analyzes how billy has come to terms with his inevitable death and has taken comfort in knowing when the end will come. he rationalized his own demise to give himself some peace of mind about his future.
500 wordsRead More - Dresden and the Destruction of Vonnegut's Dreamanalytical essayDresden and the Destruction of Vonnegut's Dream The little dream Vonnegut took with him to war was not founded on the rubble of insanity, absurdity, and irrationality that he experienced in WWII. His dream was founded on order, stability, and justice. It was founded on what Dresden symbolized. And when Dresden evaporated so too did Vonnegut's dream.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how vonnegut's little dream was founded on order,stability, and justice, based on what dresdensymbolized. when dresden evaporated, so too did his dream.
- Analyzes how the bombing of dresden had a profound impact on kurt vonnegut's life and writing. world war ii shaped many of his philosophies, especially slaughterhouse five.
- Analyzes how in slaughterhouse five, vonnegut was able to deal directly with hiswar time nightmare.
- Explains that kurt vonnegut, jr. was a prisoner who was ironically protected from bombs and fire. he was perpetrator, observer and target all at the same time.
- Describes how vonnegut was captured after the battle of the bulge and sent to dresden to work in a factory. after receiving the purple heart, he received the guggenheim fellowship to research slaughterhouse five.
- Narrates how vonnegut wrote about dresden's destruction when he returned from wwii and developed his existential philosophy and ideas.
- Analyzes vonnegut's belief that death is too important to ignore, yet is nothing to fear.
- Analyzes how vonnegut advocates acceptance of the unchangeable course of life and death, not looking back, enjoying the dance and the good moments.
- Analyzes how vonnegut describes billy pilgrim's efforts to dig up the bodies beneath the rubble of the fire bombed city in slaughterhouse five.
- Analyzes how vonnegut kept his promise to write a war novel that does not glorify or glamorize killing.
- Analyzes how vonnegut concludes that all wars are fought by the young, usually for reasons they can't understand. billy pilgrim from slaughterhouse five portrays the innocence of those who fight in war.
- Analyzes how billy pilgrim, like thecrusader, makes the perfect representational figure for this conception of war.
- Analyzes how billy becomes the christ figure of the novel. he hangs himself from a cross bar, symbolizing christ's crucifiction. vonnegut is reminded once again of christ as billy sleeps.
- Analyzes how the character of billy gives slaughterhouse five a point of focus, particle for the emotion generated by the wideranging action of the story.
- Explains that vonnegut's philosophy was a caution against unchecked science andtechnology. as world war ii ended, the people saw the most terrifying effects that science could have.
- Analyzes how vonnegut, a humanist at heart, repeatedly demonstrates the humanaptitude for cruelty and shows how technology magnifies thiscruelty beyond control.
- Illustrates vonnegut's views on the potential evil impact that can be brought on by the union of man and machine.
- Explains that in slaughterhouse five, there is no idealism -- only shock and outrage over the havoc and destruction that man is incapable of wreaking in the name of what he labels worthy cause.
- Analyzes how billy pilgrim's motto is "god grant me the serenity to accept the things that i cannot change."
- Analyzes how vonnegut's slaughterhouse five is an integration of all he has said about the human condition and society.
- Analyzes how robert scholes sums up the theme of "slaughterhouse five" in the new york times book review.
- Analyzes how vonnegut's purpose for writing this novel is that "war and hate and various form of cruelty arebad."
- Analyzes how the popularity of slaughterhouse five is due, in part, to its timelessness.
- Analyzes how slaughterhouse five made vonnegut a cult counterculture hero among american students who read the book were challenged to question the jingoisticview that they held.
- Describes the works of kurt vonnegut and goldsmith, david, and harris, richard.
- Explains that huber,chris, klinkowitz,jerome, and nuwer, richard, "kurt vonnegut and wwii". contemporary literarycritim. vol.
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