Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a contemporary American author whose works have been described by Richard Giannone as \"comic masks covering the tragic farce that is our contemporary life\" (Draper, 3784). Vonnegut\'s life has had a number of significant influences on his works. Influences from his personal philosophy, his life and experiences, and his family are evident elements in his works. Among his \"comic masks\" are three novels: Cat\'s Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Throughout these novels, elements such as attitude, detail, narrative technique, setting, and theme can be viewed with more understanding when related to certain aspects of his life. These correlations are best examined in terms of each influence.
One of the most significant influences from Vonnegut\'s life on his personal philosophy has been his participation in World War II. During the war, Vonnegut served in the American army in Europe and was captured by German soldiers. As a prisoner of war, he witnessed the Allied bombing of the city of Dresden, in which more than 135,000 people died due to the resulting fires (Draper, 3785). This experience had a profound impact on Vonnegut. From it, he developed his existential personal philosophy and his ideas about the evils of technology. He states, \"I am the enemy of all technological progress that threatens mankind\" (Nuwer, 39). The influence of Dresden shows up in each of the novels.
In Cat\'s Cradle, one element of his experience at Dresden that Vonnegut portrays is his fear of technology. Initially, the intention of the story is for the narrator to write about what the scientists who invented the atomic bomb were doing the day it was dropped on Hiroshima. To this effect, one of the scientists in the story said, \"Science has now known sin,\" to which another replied, \"What is sin?\" (Vonnegut, Cradle, 21). The focus on technology quickly changes to a material called ice-nine, which has the ability to freeze water at room temperature. This technological breakthrough, by a scientist who worked on developing the atomic bomb, has the ability to destroy the world by freezing all its water. Even though the people with ice-nine are very careful all through the plot, they lose control of it in the end and the world becomes frozen. With ice-nine, Vonnegut thematically demonstrates how relatively simple technology can lay waste to the world, as the Allies did to Dresden (Draper, 3785).
Cat\'s Cradle is an excellent example of Vonnegut\'s existentialism, \"a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in. . . [an] indifferent universe, [and] regards human existence as unexplainable\" (Bookshelf \'94). Before the novel even starts, just below the dedication, he declares, \"Nothing in this book is true. \'Live by the foma [harmless untruths] that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy\'\" (Vonnegut, Cradle). Vonnegut carries this concept all through the story, that the universe is meaningless and each person must exist for oneself. He even goes to the extent...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.