Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut, Kurt. Armageddon In Retrospect. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008.

Quote of the Book:

“And how should we behave during this apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot” (31)

The essence of Kurt Vonnegut in a nutshell can be described as a combination between his undeniable witty humor and his devotion to promote peace. Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of essays, short stories and personal accounts written by Vonnegut that centralize around the themes of war and peace that embody his trademark writing style, voice and perspective. Throughout all of his written work, Armageddon in Retrospect in particular, Vonnegut injects his beliefs into his stories, as displayed in the quote above. Vonnegut described himself to be a “humanist”, a perspective he puts into his work in Armageddon in Retrospect. All of the short stories within the novel are a reflection of Kurt Vonnegut’s opinion about war, violence and the “apocalypse” that Vonnegut feels the world is coming to. As an answer to his apocalypse, he says that we should be “unusually kind to one another” yet still keep a sense of humor. This is mirrored within the juxtaposition of the different stories that are within the book; stories that describe the importance of human kindness and awareness while adding an ounce of humor to lighten the mood.

In one such story, “Happy Birthday, 1951”, Vonnegut tells the tale of an old man who decides to give a young boy who was abandoned by his mother a birthday present. The short story is set in a place where the presence of war is evident within the city and has become so common place that the young boy, who is only a few years old is already quite familiar with the different tanks, soldiers and other artillery. However, for his birthday the old man provides the young boy with a present that seems to be one of the more greater acts of kindness towards someone. “The thought made the old man excited and happy. This would be the gift. The cart would be nothing. ‘Tomorrow I’ll take you away from the war’”(95). The old man’s birthday present is to take the young boy to a place where this is no war so that he may not have to experience war for at least one day. This story highlights one of Vonnegut’s more serious tones in his writing and explores the main theme of war and its impact on society. A majority of the short stories focus on more serious topics such as war and how human kindness can be a remedy towards the apocalypse that society is experiencing because of our human behavior which leads to war. Despite the somber mood that the theme of war and peace entails, Vonnegut still adds his humor in other short stories in the collection, such as “Guns Before Butter”, a story about POWs who constantly keep a journal of food that they plan to eat once they get home. With this story, Vonnegut tries bring some comedy to a dark subject such as being a prisoner of war, showcasing that even though this is a serious topic, it can be tackled in a more humorous way. Just as the quote described, “jokes help a lot”, and humor present within a serious situation can help alleviate the gravity of the Armageddon that we may face.

Connections:

Coincidentally, the last short story within the book, “Armageddon in Retrospect” (also the title), had a striking connection to the subject and theme of my Ethnic Studies class last Monday. “Armageddon in Retrospect” is a short story that describes a group of scientists and scholars who suddenly announce that all of the wrong-doing that has ever happened within the human world is the fault of the devil. “The trouble with the world wasn’t the Russians or the Americans of the Chinese or the British or the scientists or the generals…or, praise be to god, human beings anywhere poor things. People were all right, and decent and innocent and smart, and it was the Devil who was making their good-hearted enterprises go sour” (218). In essence, humans were at no fault for their wrong doings, it was all the work of the devil. Here, Vonnegut seems to be making a commentary about the art of “scapegoating”, pointing the finger somewhere else in order to hide the mistakes and greed of humans. This theme of scapegoating also came up in my Ethnic Studies in a discussion about a chapter in one of our textbooks, The Possessive Investment in Whiteness by George Lipsitz. Lipsitz discusses how neoconservative politics often use immigrants and immigrant issues as scapegoats, blaming them for the United States’ current financial situation. This is quite similar to the way the characters in the short story blamed the devil. In both cases, devil and immigrants were in a sense demonized to play the part of the culprit. “…the ill effects of neoconservative politics blames the state’s fiscal woes on immigrants, rather than taking responsibility for the ruinous effects of a decade and a half of irresponsible tax-cuts for the wealthy…to divert attention from their own failures” (Lipsitz, 49). The neoconservatives that Lipsitz described here try to hide their own faults by using immigrants as scapegoats, just as the humans described in the story use the devil as an excuse to mask their misbehavior. Here Vonnegut makes a commentary on this tendency in humans to scapegoat our ways out of taking responsibility for our own actions. The characters in the short story underwent elaborate methods of trying to “get rid of the devil”, such as wearing customized headsets worth billions of dollars in order to eliminate the devil from their bodies. In the same way, politicians often spend billions dollars on campaigns against immigration to eliminate illegal immigrants who are often portrayed with evil connotations similar to the devil.

One interesting connection that I drew form the novel was Vonnegut’s commentary on the media, it’s relation towards violence, war, and the effect the media has on a population. The story, Unknown Soldier, describes the birth of a baby in the new millennium. The story delves into the media’s use of portraying stories such as the first baby to be born into the new millennium in juxtaposition to what the media fails to show the public. The entire story is based around the birth of this newborn baby, who will be born into a world where violence and war are prominent, however are not often portrayed correctly in the media. The media, television in particular seems to have an incredible effect on the population. “If television refuses to look at something, even whole continents, such as Africa, one big desert now, where millions upon millions of babies, with brand-new thousand years of history looming before them, starve to death” (142). It seems the television does not seem to always publicize many of the issues that the world currently faces. Although I personally try to keep up to date about current world issues, if the media or television do not cover those subjects, then they often do not come to light. I have noticed public coverage over the earthquake in Haiti last year helped showcase the situation of the country which allowed them to receive more help. However, with less media coverage, there seems to be less help and attention that goes towards nations like Haiti and they often become forgotten.

The most significant connection and subject that struck me throughout his writings in Armageddon in retrospect, was understanding the costs of war and its relation to the current war that the United States is partaking in. This book in particular is filled with Vonnegut’s own accounts about his time in World War II as well as allegorical stories about the spoils of war. Wailing Shall Be in All Streets, is an essay in Armageddon in retrospect that chronicles Vonnegut’s personal experience as a Prisoner of War during the Dresden Bombing in Germany. In this account, Vonnegut describes the horror of war and how the bombing of Dresden nearly destroyed the city. The bombing was conducted by both the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force. Vonnegut viewed this bombing as a slaughter that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Germans as well as some Allied soldiers. The completely destruction of Dresden was not intentional, however it essentially destroyed the city and the German bystanders who were at no fault. This recount reminds me of the air raids in Afghanistan that often kill more civilians and destroy cities than actually defeat enemies. A few months ago I saw a 60 minutes special regarding the sometimes accidental bombings conducted by the US military that result in the death of quite a few Afghani civilians who were caught in the cross fire. Although there were not as many citizens that were killed in these bombings as there were in Dresden during World War II, it still showcased the spoils of war. It was still a village that was destroyed and wouldn’t be the same. Vonnegut himself felt that one of the largest sacrifices that occur in wars is the destruction of such a beautiful city as Dresden. “…I felt then as I feel now, that I would have given my life to save Dresden for the World’s generations to come. That is how everyone should feel about every city on Earth” (45). Vonnegut believed in the human ability to sacrifice oneself for others, so that they may experience a city. Though Vonnegut’s words are admirable, within those words he also reminds me that his feelings should be shared amongst everyone for every location on the planet.

Visual Representation:

The above drawing is a self-portrait of Vonnegut. Vonnegut drew the piece as a part of his novel Breakfast of Champions, however the drawing seems to reflect Vonnegut’s personal feelings throughout many of his writings in Armageddon in Retrospect. Vonnegut reflects his feelings of disappointment, antagonism and commentary on human behavior evident throughout each writing piece. There is a single tear on the drawing to represent Vonnegut’s sadness over the path of which human kind has gone. A single tear to symbolize his sadness over the loss of humanity that has occurred throughout the years. As the title suggests, Vonnegut sees the current world we live in as an apocalypse waiting to happen, if it has not yet happened. In his speech that he gave in Cloves Hall in Indianapolis, Vonnegut said: “This is indeed the Apocalypse, the end of everything…Even as I speak, the very last polar bear may be dying of hunger on account of climate change, on account of us. And I will sure miss the polar bears. Their babies are so warm and cuddly and trusting, just like ours” (21). His short stories within Armageddon in Retrospect describe the effects of human behavior on the future of humanity and the world itself. The short stories that focus on war often discuss the negative impact of war and its hindrance to the human spirit. World War II had a significant impact on Vonnegut, which is also showcased in this drawing. As described in “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets”, Vonnegut was deeply moved by his experience in Dresden; an experience that truly changed his life and perspective on the world which allowed him to write books such as Armageddon in Retrospect.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does Vonnegut implement his personal experiences in Dresden within his writing?
1. In which story is the influence of his Dresden experience most evident?
2. What do you think is the significance behind the short story Guns Before Butter?
1. How is food is used as a metaphor in relation to the starving prisoners of war in the short story?
2. What’s the significance of the specific foods that they chose as their number dish to eat once they are released? (pancakes, roast beef, etc.)
3. In what ways do the themes in the stories: Unknown Soldier, Brighten Up and Armageddon in Retrospect relate to his other novel, Slaughterhouse Five?
4. What did Vonnegut mean by his quote: “Where do I get my ideas from? You might as well have asked that of Beethoven. He was goofing around in Germany like everybody else, and all of a sudden this stuff cam gushing out of him. It was music. I was goofing around like everybody else in Indiana, and all of a sudden stuff came gushing out. It was disgust with civilization”.
5. Could the old man in Happy Birthday, 1951 be a reflection of Vonnegut himself?
1. In what ways?

Reflection:

Armageddon in Retrospect is a must-read for Vonnegut fans such as myself, however it is also a significant piece of text for others as well. Although the writing itself is not refined as his more popular works, the subject matter that Vonnegut focuses one that tugs on humanity’s heart strings. Much of the writing seemed to have a more authentic tone to it, rather than the sometimes preachy tone that can be found in some of his other novels, particularly in Galapagos. However I do find that individually, the stories and essays are not as impactful as reading one of his whole novels. This is mainly due to the fact that there aren’t a lot of characters that I as a reader could relate to because the storylines were so short. As a whole however, the collection of writing work harmoniously with one another, each story complimenting the other with either more humor or story line.

One of the more interesting things that I loved about this collection were the illustrations that complimented the short stories. Although many of Vonnegut’s novels also have some bits of his own drawing, the illustrations presented in Armageddon in Retrospect provide a great supplement to the reader. The drawings are witty and often speak as strongly as the words in his stories.

Overall, I believe Armageddon in Retrospect would be a good introduction to Vonnegut for new readers. It still has the trademark Vonnegut writing style and humor, however the segments of stories provide readers with small bites of the author, leaving them wanting more.

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut, Kurt. Galápagos: A Novel. New York, NY: Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence, 1985

Quote of the book:

“Nobody today is nearly smart enough to make the sorts of weapons even the poorest nations had a million years ago. Yes, and they were being used all the time. During my lifetime, there wasn’t a day when, somewhere on the planet, there weren’t at least three wars going on. And the Law of Natural Selection was powerless to respond to such new technologies. No female of any species, unless maybe she was a rhinoceros, could expect to give birth to a baby who was fireproof, bombproof, or bulletproof” ( 89).

Almost all of Kurt Vonnegut’s writings are an investigation and commentary on human behavior, and the quote above embodies the message that the author wanted to convey in his novel Galapagos. The novel is narrated by a ghost who tells the story a million years after the events in Galapagos have taken place. The story tells the tale of the last survivors of the human race who are stuck in a deserted island, after the entire world has become destroyed by nuclear weapons. Vonnegut comments that it was the “big brains” of the world that led to the demise of humanity because their brains perpetuated them to develop new technologies that would eventually be used for destruction and war. The quote above illustrates how the knowledge of man has led to the idea that there wasn’t a day that passed by when “there weren’t at least three wars going on”. Throughout the novel, Vonnegut comments on how our human nature to constantly develop new technologies and progress, can lead to our own demise. In a sense, much of the novel points to the notion that ‘we are too smart for our own good’. The most intelligent survivors, wealthy businessman and computer software whiz, are the first to die. Vonnegut himself writes this within the first few pages of the novel to illustrate how one’s survival does not necessarily depend on how big your brain is.

One of the most important themes of the novel is that humanity is progressing much faster than nature should allow us to progress. Vonnegut incorporates many Darwinian principles, such as the Law of Natural Selection to showcase the proper way in which humans should be evolving. As seen in the quote, humans should adapt to the laws of nature rather than develop technologies that do not allow us to naturally be prepared for them. There is no species on Earth that could naturally adapt to the man-made guns, bombs, and other technologies, because those items are not found naturally in the environment. The human brain has advanced too quickly for the human body to physically protect itself against the technological predators that our brains have developed ourselves. This is why, the survivors in Galapagos, begin to adapt naturally to their surroundings, which allows their brains to shrink. Over the course of a million years since what seemed to be the Apocalypse, humans have evolved and morphed into a new species with a small brain, fur, beaks, and flippers. Humans of the future now do not even have the intelligence to develop technologies because they physically cannot do so. Do to their natural adaptation, the new human race is “innocent and relaxed now, all because evolution took their hands away” (113). The essence of the novel is captured by this quote and the quote above, because they showcase message within Vonnegut’s words

Connections:

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and Galapagos. The characters in Galapagos survive the Great Apocalypse because they just so happen to be on a boat, similar to Noah’s Ark, that allowed them to land on an island. The flood in One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the nuclear bomb in Galapagos, both served as a catalyst for the world to start anew. The Earth was rid of the past’s evils, either washed away or blown up. The survivors are then confined to a small island away from the mainland, much is quite similar to the town of Macondo. Both places are isolated from the mainland, Galapagos an island, while Macondo is a peninsula. In addition, both bare resemblance to the Garden of Eden in the Creation Story. In reference to the island in Galapgaos, Vonnegut writes, “Then again it is so peaceful here, why would anybody want to live on the mainland? Every island has become an ideal place to raise children, with waving coconuts palms and broad white beaches – and limpid blue lagoons” (113). The island that the survivors were on was like a paradise. There was still a sense of innocence and untouched vegetation and land that made it such a haven for its inhabitants. There is however a difference between the people of Macondo and the descendents of the survivors in Galapgos. A majority of the Buendia family wanted to go towards exploration and be exposed to what the outside world has to offer. In contrast, the Galapagos survivor descendents choose not to evolve to humans and go towards the mainland. “If people can swim as fast and far as fur seals now, what is to prevent their swimming all the way back to the mainland, whence their ancestors came? Answer: nothing”(113). There is nothing that stands between the new human race to go back to the mainland, however they choose to live in simplicity, free from the complexities that would arise in the mainland. simultaneously, and couldn’t help but notice the striking similarities between the novel’s themes and storylines. Both novels are centralized around the themes of the pitfalls of modern technology and how it can corrupt a population. The people of Macondo began to spiral into destruction and succumb to temptation when they became exposed to the outside world. The people became tainted with the new innovations and ideas, which helped influence the thirty two wars of Colonel Aureliano Buendia. This mirrored the world that Vonnegut was describing before modern technology destroyed the human population. Modern technology has destroyed an essence of what it meant to be human. People were becoming too focused on the latest science and inventions, that much like Jose Arcadio Buendia, they lost sight of their humanity. Another way in which the two novels are similar are their biblical references and themes. Both novels bare resemblance to the Creation Story and the tale of Noah’s Ark. In

Much like Gabriel Garcia Marquez based One Hundred Years of Solitude on the history of Colombia, Vonnegut based the context of Galapagos on the Latin American Debt Crisis in the 1980s. In the 1980s, many countries in Latin America had a foreign debt that exceeded their own earning power which caused an economic crisis in nations like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, etc. In Galapagos, Vonnegut uses Ecuador as a backdrop of the event. “Ecuador…could not beign to feed its nin million people. It was bankrupt, and so could no longer buy food from countries with plenty of topsoil…and the people were beginning to starve to death” (15). Vonnegut includes three Ecuadorian sisters as characters in the novel, who embody the desperation that the nation was in. The sisters themselves were known to be cannibalistic out of desperation and hunger. Although this portrayal is quite extreme, it is seemed very characteristic of Vonnegut. He often utilizes his dark humor in order to bring light his message; which in this case regarded the extremity of the situation in Latin American countries.

One of the more interesting connections that I drew from Galapagos and from modern topics today, was a commentary on abortion. Abortion is often one of the most heated debates in politics and society, because of its implications about human life, stem cell research, etc. In the novel however, the concept of abortion is treated with dark humor and brings to light Vonnegut’s own opinion about the matter. “A million years ago, there were passionate arguments about whether it was right or wrong for people to use mechanical means to keep sperm from fertilizing ova or to dislodge fertilized ova from the uteri – in order to keep the number of people from exceeding the food supply. That problem is taken care of nowadays, without anybody’s having to do anything unnatural. Killer whales and sharks the human population nice and manageable, and nobody starves” (74). To, it seems that Vonnegut believes abortion and birth control to be in some ways, a method of population control. Whether or not Vonnegut agrees with abortion or not is unclear and unimportant. What is more significant, is the belief that there shouldn’t even be a need for artificial population control. If humans were originally living within their own means, then the natural course of the environment should control the human population, much like it controls animal and plant populations. Within nature, there is a system that allows there not to be overpopulation and therefore a food shortage. In Galapagos, this same principle is once instilled within the new human population, because sharks and killer whales are Mother Nature’s way of population control.

Visual Representation:

The above photo showcases a new version of the “Evolution of Man” that encompasses the evolution of the human population within the novel. Man has evolved from the animal world to evolving back into an animal because of our actions. The figure in the middle depicts the big-brained man that Vonnegut wanted to portray in his novel. He carries a rifle and a bloodied shovel, which showcases the violent nature that humans gave in to. Through our evolution, the human brain has helped mankind in making weapons to use for violence. “When I was alive, I often received advice from my own big brain, which in terms of my survival, or the survival of the human race, for that matter, can be charitably described as questionable. Example: It had me join the United States Marines and go fight in Vietnam. Thanks a log Big Brain” (19). Here Vonnegut showcases how the evolution of man’s brain has led him to go into war, a notion that is embodied by the figure in the center. The figure to right, (the fat man holding the McDonald’s bag and drink), showcases what our big brains have led us to become. We not only become violent, but we also become greedy and gluttonous. Then, eventually as the natural course of human kind continues, humans will no longer exist, but rather revert back to the course of nature and primitiveness. Vonnegut hints at the future of human kind in Galapagos, describing that if our actions continue, then we will no longer be human, but rather furry animals who fish with beaks.

Questions:

1. What significance does the title and place of Galapagos have in relation to the themes of the novel?

2. Why did Vonnegut choose certain traits for each character? What significance does this have to the theme of Natural selection?

3. Where do you think Vonnegut gained inspiration for the disease that becomes a pandemic in the novel? (Think about the context of world health and new diseases in the 1980s)

4. In what ways does Galapagos bare resemblance to Vonnegut’s other novels?

a. What themes, symbols, literary devices are similar?

5. Why does Vonnegut use an asterisk near a character’s name to foreshadow their death?

a. Why would the author want to tell the reader beforehand that a character is going to die?

Reflection:

Once again, Vonnegut does not disappoint. Galapagos was true to the author’s unique writing style and narrative. It included much of the dark humor and witty interjections that I love most about Vonnegut. I quite enjoyed the novel as a whole, and there were many times where I full out laughed. One of my favorite portions in the novel was an interview between the Captain of the Bahia de Darwin (the boat that the survivors were on) and Jimmy Carson on the Tonight Show. This was yet another one of Vonnegut’s literary devices that keep me interested as a reader.

In addition, the author continues to play with themes that investigate and comment upon the human behavior in order for readers to see the flaws of humanity, and try to take action. This however, is something that I sometimes find as a flaw within the novel. Although it is a style of Vonnegut’s to be somewhat blunt about his message within the book, he was riding a fine line between naturally showcasing the themes and being preachy. Although I loved his use of “big brain” comments, it was almost too much. Even if Vonnegut hadn’t used those terms over and over, the novel itself would have gotten the same message across to the reader. Also, even though I enjoyed the novel, it doesn’t have the same feel or pizzazz as his other novels that I’ve read. The writing itself is not up to the level of Cat’s Cradle or Breakfast of Champions, despite the fact that the style is the same. I believe this is due to the plot outline itself. There is a disconnect between some of the characters in Galapagos and the reader. I cannot relate as much to James Wait in Galapagos than I can to Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse Five.

Despite some of its flaws, any fan of Vonnegut is sure to love Galapagos. I myself quite enjoyed it because it still had much of the characteristic stylings of Vonnegut while incorporating a sense of biology. Even if a reader were not a Vonnegut fan, this novel would still be a good introduction to the author’s writing, and just as the last words of the novel go, “You’ll learn, you’ll learn,”, one will learn to love Vonnegut (184).

Kurt Vonnegut's America by Jermone Klinkowitz

Klinkowitz, Jerome.Kurt Vonnegut’s America. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2009.

Quote of the Book:

“…in his last book published in his lifetime, he declared himself a man without a country. Yet that country, beleaguered as it was in those years, was not yet without Kurt Vonnegut” (122).

Jerome Klinkowitz, a close and personal friend of Kurt Vonnegut, wrote those words in order to not only encompass the biography he wrote about Vonnegut, but to showcase the essence of the man himself and his impact on America. Kurt Vonnegut’s America, is a biography that chronicles the events in Kurt Vonnegut’s life, and relates both his life and work to the social and political structure of America throughout the past sixty years. From the 1950s until his death in 2007, Kurt Vonnegut played an integral part in American culture. Vonnegut didn’t quite receive recognition for his work until the publication of his novel Slaughterhouse Five, however once readers gained a taste of Vonnegut they could not get enough. Kurt Vonnegut became a significant figure in American culture because it seemed that America needed him. As the quote states, America “wast not yet without Kurt Vonnegut”, which signifies America’s need to have Vonnegut and his work in their lives. As Klinkowitz argues throughout the biography, Vonnegut’s novels seems to speak to the American public in new and exciting ways that provide readers a new perspective on life and other issues. Vonnegut wrote novels in order to expose the different pitfalls of humanity, so that the population itself could distinguish humanity’s shortcomings and do something about it. This is evident within his latest work.

One of his last published works was “A Man Without A Country”, a reference to the quote, is a collection of short essays about the issues in modern American society. Here it seems that the title of the essay itself is representative of Kurt Vonnegut’s feelings of how much the country continues to move backwards and in a sense is no longer a country that he could count on. However despite his rants about many of the problems we see in contemporary America, Vonnegut wrote the essays as a way to serve the American public. As Klinkowitz stated, “Kurt Vonnegut had stayed active late in his life because, in all humility, he felt his country needed him. Or at least he could of use, which we know was the cardinal value he believed human beings could possess” (123). Vonnegut had a genuine desire to write in order to help Americans. Regardless of his feelings about how American culture and politics seems to be going backwards, Vonnegut continues to work and write as a way to enlighten the public. As both quotes suggest, the country accepted Vonnegut and as Klinkowitz describes throughout the biography, his works transcends generations of readers because of the themes, which can still be relatable to current times.

Connections:

In the 1950s, Vonnegut’s career in writing short family weeklies, magazines and short stories began to decline with the rise of television. Klinkowitz recounts Vonnegut’s disdain for television in Chapter One of the biography, which is reminiscent of the current problems with television. Back then it seems that Vonnegut could already see the impact that television had on the family structure and human nature. While describing Vonneguts feelings towards the difference between a simple magazine and television, Klinkowitz writes, “Interesting to note [Vonnegut] says the ads could be as stimulating as the fiction, simply because readers had to engage themselves with the magazine – so unlike just leaning back and turning on the tv” (35). Here, Vonnegut comments on the issues of television and how it creates more of a lazy audience. Vonnegut seemed to love the notion of an engaged and active audience, because instead of just listening to a television, they are reading things and processing them for themselves. This seems to be a big issue with much of today’s television. Today, channels are often filled with meaningless reality shows, dramas, and comedies that don’t really stir up true emotion and thought from an audience. Instead, television is now a form of entertainment that comes through one ear and out of the other. It seems to me that Kurt Vonnegut much more preferred the medium of writing as a way to inform an audience over everything else because he wanted to challenge the audience’s intelligence. Television on the other hand, does not challenge its audience but rather leaves them lulled and just listening to what a colorful box says. This is not what Vonnegut wanted to happen. He wanted the American people to have their own thoughts, opinions that were formed by the social fabric of society at the time. Many American today however, tend to base opinions on what is told to them rather than interpreting what is told and developing their own thought.

Another important connection that I discovered while reading about Vonnegut’s life was the parallelism of his life with Ernest Hemmingways. Klinkowitz touched upon this connection by saying, “Just as Ernest Hemmingway had come home from World War I and found not a world safe for democracy, but a civilization lulled by its own ignorant satisfaction, Kurt Vonnegut had returned from World War II determined to find out why people behaved as they did” (107). Here Klinkowitz showcases how both of the authors came back from a world war that was supposed to better society, however they were met with a new world where the same evils that they tried fight against in the world wars were within their own countries. Klinkowitz doesn’t go into much detail, however, of how this seemed to reflect both of their works. From reading Hemmingway’s novels, particularly The Sun Also Rises, the author depicts this perception of how Americans seemed to dissent into self-indulgence and moral less behavior. The aftermath of World War I created a “Lost Generation” because of how the war affected many of the soldiers on a psychologically level that did not allow them to care. In the same essence, Vonnegut wrote Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five as a way to provide a forum to discuss the atrocities and ramifications of World War II. In Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut seems to touch upon the destructive manner of using science and technology and how a post World War II society has fostered this idea of advancing society through technology. Vonnegut sees the destruction and regression of this concept, because of how the atomic bomb was used to kill not just to end a war, but as a means to showcase to the world the power of the technology that the United States possessed.

After recently attending a lecture at USD about the relationship between art and activism, I realized how Vonnegut was not only an artist because he was a writer, but he was also an activist because of his writing. The lecture at USD was given by a professor/spoken-word perfomer/recording artist/activist, VJ Jennings. Professor Jennings spoke to the audience about how art is used as a statement and medium for activism. The lecture itself seemed to combine these two elements, and reminded me of Vonnegut himself. Throughout the biography Klinkowitz praises Vonnegut’s work and its impact on society, however he never used the words activism to describe Vonnegut. After reading the biography and gaining better insight as to why Vonnegut wrote the novels and how it related to American life, I feel that Vonengut himself was an activist and artist. Professor Jennings often used spoken word poetry in the lecture as a means to engage the audience while providing a message. The rhythm, style and wit that were within the spoken poetry were reminiscent of Vonnegut’s own rhythm, style and humor that he implements in his writing. I believe Vonnegut to be in the same level as spoken word activists like VJ Jennings because although they had different mediums, they both aimed to enlighten the public about many issues that plague the world. VJ Jennings said during the lecture that art and activism worked hand in hand with one another, and in the same sense Vonnegut’s writing (which was his art) was an act of activism.


Visual Represenation:

The image above exemplifies Klinkowitz’s discussion of the impact of Vonnegut’s work on the public. “So it goes” is a popular quote and mantra from Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five. The saying is often said throughout the novel whenever the concept of death is involved. It actually appears one hundred and six times in the book. As the above picture showcases, Vonnegut’s words are embedded into the American culture, and in this case, embedded into the skin. Throughout the biography, Klinkowitz sites the various amounts of Vonnegut fans and how he reached more popularity with the publication of the novel Slaughterhouse Five. With his rising popularing, Vonnegut seemed to become more well known in the public eye not only as an author, but as a philosopher as well. His words began to ring true for much of the American public and it allowed many to gain a different point of view of the world they were living in. Kurt Vonnegut seems to live on even after his death through his work and through the different sayings that reached popularity during his lifetime. As Klinkowitz described in his book, Vonnegut would be remembered as an important figure in America. “As for himself, Kurt Vonnegut feared that he’d be forgotten, or at best regarded as a relic of the 1960s. Ironically his death proved how wrong he was. On the morning of April 12, 2007, The Today Show’s Ann Curry announced his passing as a major news item. That evening NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams treated it with respect for the passing of a Melville or Faulkner”(2). Vonnegut and his work were immortalized by his death, Vonnegut would be anything but forgotten, because his words continue to live on through his grave and are tattooed into the people of America. So it goes.

Questions:

1. In what ways does Klinkowitz use Vonnegut’s writing and works as a reflection of what was currently happening in society and world news?

a. For example, how did his writing in the 1960s differ from his writing in the 1980s based on the current political status of the time?

2. Why did Klinkowitz believe Vonnegut had such an impact on society? Think about what Klinkowitz comments about in Vonnegut’s writing style and the subject matter he tends to focus on in his novels.

3. According to the author, how did Vonnegut seemed to transform as the decades progressed?

a. What events in Vonnegut’s life seemed to shape his writing?

4. According to Klinkowitz, which members of his family had the most impact on Vonnegut and why?

5. Throughout the novel, Klinkowitz names a chapter based on the decade that he discusses in Vonnegut’s life and work. Why does he choose the names for each chapter?

a. For Example:

i. Introduction: Vonnegut Unleashed

ii. Vonnegtu's 1950s: Human Structure

iii. Vonnegut's 1960s: Apocolypse Redone

Reflection:

Kurt Vonnegut’s America was an interesting take in the biographical genre. I quite enjoyed it because it described someone’s life in such a unique. I liked how the author drew parallels with Vonnegut’s real life events with his work and with what was happening in the American public. I thought that this was clever of Klinkowitz, because at the center of things, Vonnegut’s life was truly about being able to educate others. To me, I believed that Vonnegut’s life mission is to write in order to provide the public with information. VJ Jennings said during the lecture that knowledge is power, and in the same sense Vonnegut wanted to empower Americans by instilling them with his own wisdom.

As a whole I enjoyed the novel; however, I found several flaws that I believe took away from some messages of the biography. A lot of times, Klinkowitz would refer to one of Vonnegut’s novels without providing enough context, for me as a reader, to truly understand the argument that he is trying to convey. Klinkowitz often went into deep detail about some of Vonnegut’s novels, and I felt like much of the detail was unnecessary and took away from the purpose of describing those novels as examples n the first place. In addition, I hope to read more of Vonnegut’s novels and now that I know a lot of what now happens in them because of Klinkowitz, I’m a bit disappointed. At some points I feel like I was robbed of hearing the words and stories from Vonnegut himself and instead was hearing them from a secondary source. One other section that I didn’t quite like was the very conclusion of the novel. Although I can appreciate the subtle humor that Klinkowitz is trying to potray, I felt that they very last few pages of the biography did not truly encompass the biography as a whole successfully. I feel as though the end could have been stronger and more consistent with the rest of the biography, however I can understand why Klinkowitz would end the biography with a letter from Vonnegut to him.

Overall I quite liked reading the biography. It provided me with much insight into Vonnegut’s life and made me appreciate and love the author even more than I already do (if that’s even possible). This is a must read for all Kurt Vonnegut fans, however I caution those who do not know anything about Vonnegut to read it. Those who are unfamiliar with Vonnegut will not fully grasp many of the references that Klinkowitz makes in the biography. Vonnegut fans on the other hand, will benefit greatly from reading this biography. They will not only gain a better perspective on Vonnegut and where he is coming from, but they will also gain a better appreciation of the existence of Kurt Vonnegut himself.

In one of his books, Vonnegut titles the novel God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, however I think the more appropriate title should be, God Bless You Mr. Vonnegut.