Kurt Vonnegut Mentality

The Kurt Vonnegut Mentality
Kurt Vonnegut is an author that isn’t afraid to question and critique major establishments. Vonnegut question those intentions of religion, whether they are in reality working in good faith or in dehumanizing people and taking away from their ability to grow and have their own opinions. In his works, Vonnegut doesn’t steer clear from examining the pointlessness of warfare, the ability to escape your current reality, religion and the immoral aspects of science. Vonnegut’s short story Harrison Bergeron and his novels, Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle were all works that were inspired and reflected off events in his life. The decline of his mental health, his wife turning to Christianity, the growing political and

War isn’t glamorous or heroic and Vonnegut makes it clear in Slaughterhouse-Five, “For Vonnegut, war is not an enterprise of glory and heroism, but an uncontrolled catastrophe for all involved, and anyone who seeks glory and heroism in war is deluded” (Telgen, Hile). Vonnegut shows how war shouldn’t be seen as an accomplishment, but as a weapon. War can get out of control and can result into something that will typically destroy humanity. The justification of war and the violence and murder that goes along with it shows the flaws in humanity, “Thinking in a military manner,” as Vonnegut (1969/1991) notes, entailed dehumanization and an apathetic acceptance of human suffering and death. Additionally, militarization demanded an unconditional obedience (P.J. Ramsey, 212). Towards the end of Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut uses an excerpt from The Destruction of Dresden by David Irving. In this excerpt there is a message written by Air Marshal Sir Robert Suandy speaking on behalf of the Dresden Air Raid, “a great tragedy” (Slaugterhouse-Five,187). Suandy declared “It was one of those terrible things that sometimes happens in wartime, brought about by

Right out of the gate, Vonnegut begins this novel by wanting you to assume religion is a lie, “I would have been a Bokononist then, if there had been anyone to teach me the bittersweet lies of Bokonon” (Cat’s Cradle, 1). In Cat’s Cradle Vonnegut proves the flaw we see in humanity could be at the fault of scientists seeking new discoveries as a game rather than for enrichment of knowledge. He makes the connection between the consequences that can happen with scientific advancement and the absence of morals, “My book is going to emphasize the human rather than the technical side of the bomb, so recollections of the day through the eyes of a 'baby,' if you'll pardon the expression, would fit in perfectly” (Cats Cradle, 4). Felix Hoekinner saw the formation of weapons as a game. Hoekinner wasn’t interested in how his invention would be used he was only interested in making it a reality, the challenge of creating the atomic bomb. Throughout Cat’s Cradle Vonnegut implies the scientists that created the atomic bomb and murdered thousands of Japanese during World War II didn’t see it as a weapon, but as a game to prove their intelligence, “In a modern perspective, it would be assumed that science –the pursuit of knowledge through collection of observation and empirical data- benefits people. However, Vonnegut uses his postmodern irony to show