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The Argument In Kurt Vonnegut's Ice-Nine

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One such argument found throughout many of Vonnegut’s works is the belief in the perversion of the advancements of science to benefit one specific group instead of humanity as a whole. Vonnegut specifically uses the invention of “ice-nine” as his method for delving into the topic. Ice-nine, an ice crystal that can cause all other types of water to immediately turn into ice-nine, was created by Felix Hoenikker for the purpose of clearing out mud for the Marines. A colleague of Dr. Hoenikker, Dr. Breed, states right before the introduction of ice-nine, to the reader, that “new knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become,” this, however, directly contradicts his next main argument which says that “they looked upon him as a sort …show more content…

I supposed you’re going to rush to market with a sensationalist story about ice-nine now. I tell you again, it does not exist!” “And the springs feeding…?” “They’d freeze, damn it!” he cried. “but if I had known that you were a member of the yellow press… I wouldn’t have wasted a minute with you” “And the rain?” “When it fell, it would freeze into hard little hobnails of ice-nine --and that would be the end of the world! And the end of the interview, too! Good bye! (Vonnegut 41). Through this particular dialogue between the two characters, Vonnegut concretely makes his point on the myopic nature of the scientific community. Dr. Breed’s reluctance to speak about the catastrophic nature of an invention such as ice-nine, as well as his ad-hominem disparagements of Jonah show the quick to anger nature when the morals of creating such an invention were questioned. The specific mention to the “yellow press,” an article or specific type of scientific journalism with sensationalized articles, shows the insecurity that Breed feels having the morals behind such experimentation questioned and works to show that even scientists are not

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It should be established before anything else that the author I have chosen, Kurt Vonnegut, was heavily influenced by World War II. The idea of war, along with its devastating effects, gave Vonnegut a rather cynical and twisted view on human nature. This perspective bleeds over onto his writing and can be seen in many of his major and minor works, including one of his most impactful, “Slaughterhouse 5,” in which he uses time travel, alien planets, and other farfetched ideas to describe the physical and emotional consequences of violent acts. Vonnegut’s fatalistic and overly pessimistic view of the future, most likely stems from the very problems created by The World Wars. The mechanization and automation of weaponry caused an emotional disconnect to form that removed the face-to-face contact experienced in previous wars.

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They have it in Sweden.” (Hattenhauer 387) Given this and many more instances where Vonnegut’s spoken word was documented in support of left-wing politics, this interpretation of Vonnegut’s intent behind the story is much more convincing. Political context analysis of the story’s

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Science fiction is fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets. One article stated, “Harrison Bergeron effectively renders Vonnegut’s vision of the unethical, misguided use of scientific and technological developments in the future” (Reed and Grigsby). The authors are explaining the fact that Vonnegut is using scientific and technological developments in the future. They are showing that they are using it for the bad, not for the good of life.

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Vonnegut Jr. is an author who believes that everyone deserve to be different and not treated as if they are less than anyone

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