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Vonnegut's Simple Style in Cat's Cradle
The simple style with which Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. writes
his novels belies the complexity hidden behind his
sentences. Vonnegut's novels, as a result, are amazingly
easy and, to many, enjoyable to read, yet they contain
messages that go to the very root of humanity, messages that
are not hidden underneath flowery prose. The success of
Cat's Cradle, like all of his novels, relies on this
simplicity to reveal its messages about religion, death, and
apocalypse to the reader.
Cat's Cradle is composed of a series of short, very
direct, and seemingly simple sentences, that, when combined,
form a surprisingly complex novel. Cat's Cradle, like most
of Vonnegut's novels, is not very wordy. Vonnegut will
almost always say things directly; for example, when
discussing the history of San Lorenzo, he writes,
"Subsequent expeditions came for gold...found none, burned
a few natives for entertainment and heresy, and sailed on"
(89). Vonnegut uses a very direct and flippant manner when
he writes of things that others might not confront, such as
the cruelty of the conquistadors. He does not try to hide
his messages subtly, so his readers get the full meaning out
of his novel, even if they are reading the book merely for
entertainment. One does not have to search through his novel
word-for-word to find Vonnegut's themes. Instead, Vonnegut
sends his themes via simplicity and exaggeration. For
Vonnegut to convey his ideas successfully to the reader, he
must use a simple style to do s o; his point of view is so
contrary to the norm that simplicity is the only way for him
to get hi...
... middle of paper ...
...continue trying, because it is human nature to
risk destroying the world to further one's own ends.
Cat's Cradle depends on Vonnegut's simplicity and other
literary techniques, like exaggeration, to make its point.
Man's destructive nature is made quite clear in this
excellent novel, and unnecessary words and sentences would
have destroyed the clarity of Vonnegut's message. The
message, and the readability of the novel, are more
important than if the novel is of the same literary caliber
as the likes of Shakespeare and Hemingway. Vonnegut's simple
sentences, combined with exaggeration, irony, and elements
of science fiction, make his novels, and the messages
contained within them, very powerful, and very enjoyable to
read. In this way, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has established
himself as a literary master.
There are many similarities between the war experiences of Kurt Vonnegut and the character of Billy Pilgrim in his novel Slaughterhouse Five. Several similarities between them are shown in the letter from Kurt Vonnegut to his family dated May 29, 1945 (Vonnegut, Armageddon in Retrospect 11-14).
The host, who is later found out to be The Green Knight, tells his wife to seduce Sir Gawain. The hosts’ wife, then attempts to seduce Sir Gawain many times, trying to test his virtue. “You’re free to have my all, do with me what you will. I’ll come just as you call and swear to serve you well” (ll.1236-1240) Sir Gawain receives kisses from the wife, and later returns the kisses to The Green Knight due to their agreement for the exchanging of their days winnings. On the third day of the agreement Sir Gawain receives a gift from the lords’ wife and keeps this gift a secret from the Lord. This was the first time I thought there was something interesting going on at the castle. For Sir Gawain to only have told a lie, about a girdle that saved his life, is not something that I wouldn’t consider detrimental to his knighthood or his reputation. This makes Sir Gawain a noble knight in my point of view. It’s a struggle to always do the right thing. As a knight there would be more temptations, women, money, and more power that is
Hale, Robert L. A Review of Juvenile Executions in America. Vol. 3. Wales: Edwin Mellen, 1997. Print.
...stops him from sleeping with Bertilak’s wife, only until his finds a way to avoid death does he goes against them. What Gawain learns from the green knight’s challenge is that instinctively he is just a human who is concerned with his own life over anything else. Chivalry does provide a valuable set of rules and ideals toward which one to strive for, but a person must remain aware of their own mortality and weaknesses. Sir Gawain’s flinching at the green knight’s swinging ax, his time in the woods using animal nature requiring him to seek shelter to survive and his finally accepting the wife’s gift of the girdle teaches him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
Oscar 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.
...rre Toelken. “Gawain and the Green Girdle.” Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Eds. Donald R. Howard and Christian Zacher. Notre Dame: UP of Notre Dame, 1968: 236-244.
It is expected that at a young age, children are taught the difference between what is right and what is wrong in all types of situations. The majority of Supreme Court Justices abolished mandatory life in prison for juveniles that commit heinous crimes, argued this with the consideration of age immaturity, impetuosity, and also negative family and home environments. These violent crimes can be defined as murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault and the like depending on state law. With these monstrous acts in mind the supreme court justices argument could be proven otherwise through capability and accountability, the underdevelopment of the teenage brain and the severity of the crime. Juveniles commit heinous crimes just like adults
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
"We are placed on the side of mortality itself, and can thus, with the Green Knight, forgive Gawain for his single act of cowardice: what he did was done not out of sensual lust but for love of life--'the less, then, to blame.' In the context of this affectionate sympathy, Gawain's own violent anger at the revelation of his fault must itself be viewed with amusement, as part of his human fallibility." (Marie Borroff, Introduction)
In Gordon M. Shedd’s “Knight in Tarnished Armour: The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, he argues that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly about the strength and weaknesses of human nature. One particularly interesting part of his argument asserts that Gawain’s humanity broke medieval romance tradition.
Sir Gawain's inner values and character are tested to the fullest and are clearly defined in the text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The unknown author describes Gawain and the other knights as "Many good knights" (Norton 159), and he is referred to as one of the "most noble knights" (Norton 159) in King Arthur's land. This claim by the author is solidified by a challenge presented by the evil Green Knight, who enters the court of King Arthur and asks him to partake in a Christmas game. Sir Gawain, after hearing this challenge, asks the king if he may take his place. This represents that Gawain is very loyal to his king. Sir Gawain is also an honest knight in the text because in a year's time he ventures out in search of the Green Knight to endure a blow with the ax as the rules of the game were stated. He very easily could have not have carried out his end of the bargain by not traveling to the Green Chapel to meet the evil being, but Gawain is an honest knight who is true to his word.
Today, we live in a society faced with many problems, including crime and the fear that it creates. In the modern era, juveniles have become a part of society to be feared, not rehabilitated. The basis of the early juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate and create safe havens for wayward youth. This is not the current philosophy, although the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries to execute juveniles. Presently, our nation is under a presidential administration that strongly advocates the death penalty, including the execution of juveniles. The media and supporters of capital punishment warn of the "superpredator," the juvenile with no fear, remorse, or conscience. Opponents of this view encourage the idea that another death is only revenge, not deterrence. We will examine the rights allotted to juvenile offenders, and the punishments inflicted upon them for violations of the law.
In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Poet Pearl, Sir Gawain, knight of the Round Table, acts chivalrously, yet his intents are insincere and selfish. It is the advent season in Middle Age Camelot, ruled by King Arthur when Poet Pearl begins the story. In this era citizens valued morals and expected them to be demonstrated, especially by the highly respected Knights of the Round Table. As one of Arthur’s knights, Sir Gawain commits to behaving perfectly chivalrous; however, Gawain falls short of this promise. Yes, he acts properly, but he is not genuine. The way one behaves is not enough to categorize him as moral; one must also be sincere in thought. Gawain desires to be valued as
Gawain is held to be the physical embodiment of chivalry itself, and yet is paradoxically forced to break the code in order to uphold it, proving beyond doubt the inability of the code to be put into practice. The author himself enters the narrative using the first-person, and states that Gawain is “faultless in his five senses […] [nor] found ever to fail in his five fingers / [and] all his fealty was fixed upon the five wounds [that] Christ got on the cross,” going on to associate each point on his royal-red pentangle with a quality he is possessed of (Part II. Lines 640-658). Gawain’s chivalry having been firmly established, he is then thrust into the crosshairs of the tempting Lady Bertilak whilst Lord Bertilak, his host, is away on a hunting expedition. The previous day, Gawain had sworn an oath of loyalty to Lord Bertilak in exchange for his lavish hospitality (II. 1038-1040). He is promptly called out on that by the lord, and compelled to, for three days, exchange all of his daily spoils for that of Lord Bertilak’s (II. 1089-1090). Lady Bertilak wastes no time seizing this opportunity,
Skellam, J.G., 1958. The mathematical foundations underlying the use of line transects in animal ecology. Biometrics, 14(3), 380-400.