Known as one of the most influential 20th century american novelist, Kurt Vonnegut, lead a depressing but successful life in his works of literature. Vonnegut was born November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before the Great Depression (1929-1939) he and his family lead a wealthy life; his father , Kurt Vonnegut Sr., had a successful agricultural business, which dissipated upon the start of the Great Depression. This caused Kurt Vonnegut Sr. to turn to alcoholism and drug abuse. (“A brief Biography of Kurt Vonnegut”) His depressing childhood heavily influenced his pessimistic views of the world which made his books, especially Slaughterhouse Five, to have very nihilistic views. Throughout his teen years Vonnegut Found his love for writing while writing his High School’s paper, The Echo, his interest continued into college. He became editor of the student paper, The Sun, at Cornell. His love of journalism influenced his writing by the rules of journalism, “[get] the facts right, compose straightforward declarative sentences [and], know the audience.” (“Kurt Vonnegut”) These rules made his writing unique, intriguing and very popular. …show more content…
He was sent to fight at the Battle of the Bulge where he was captured by Germans and became a prisoner of war (POW). He was later sent with other POWs to Dresden. Where he was forced into a meat locker and slaughterhouse sixty feet under ground. Dresden was later bombed, although it was a non-militarized town, Vonnegut and other POWs survived by protection from the slaughter. The survivors and Vonnegut were forced to work by gathering and burying the dead.(“A Brief Biography of Kurt Vonnegut)” This event would later influence his most famous work Slaughterhouse Five and add to his overall pessimistic view of