Kurt vonnegut biography summary organizer

The fantastic settings of these works serve primarily as a metaphor comparison for modern society, which Vonnegut views as absurd to the point of being surreal irrational; dreamlike , and as a backdrop for Vonnegut's central focus: the hapless human beings who inhabit these bizarre worlds and struggle with both their environments and themselves.

Vonnegut once again focuses on the role of technology in human society in Cat's Cradle , widely considered one of his best works. The novel recounts the discovery of a form of ice, called ice-nine, which is solid at a much lower temperature than normal ice and is capable of solidifying all water on Earth.

Kurt vonnegut biography summary organizer

Ice-nine serves as a symbol of the enormous destructive potential of technology, particularly when developed or used without regard for the welfare of humanity. Vonnegut's reputation was greatly enhanced in with the publication of Slaughterhouse-Five, an antiwar novel that appeared during the peak of protest against American involvement in the Vietnam War — 75; when American forces aided South Vietnam in their fight against North Vietnam.

Vonnegut described Slaughterhouse-Five as a novel he was compelled to write, since it is based on one of the most extraordinary and significant events of his life. During World War II when he was a prisoner of the German Army, Vonnegut witnessed the Allied bombing of Dresden, Germany, which destroyed the city and killed more than one hundred thirty-five thousand people.

One of the few to survive, Vonnegut was ordered by his captors to aid in the grisly task of digging bodies from the rubble and destroying them in huge bonfires. Because the city of Dresden had little military value, its destruction went nearly unnoticed in the press. Slaughterhouse-Five is Vonnegut's attempt to both document and criticize this event.

Like Vonnegut, the main character of Slaughterhouse-Five, named Billy Pilgrim, was present at the bombing of Dresden and has been deeply affected by the experience. His feelings develop into spiritual uncertainty that results in a nervous breakdown. In addition, he suffers from a peculiar condition, of being "unstuck in time," meaning that he randomly experiences events from his past, present, and future.

The novel is therefore a complex, nonchronological in no order of time narrative in which images of suffering and loss prevail. After the publication of Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut entered a period of depression during which he vowed, at one point, never to write another novel. He concentrated, instead, on lecturing, teaching, and finishing a play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, that he had begun several years earlier.

The play, which ran Off-Broadway from October to March , received mixed reviews. There were several factors which could be interpreted as the cause of Vonnegut's period of depression, including, as he admitted, the approach of his fiftieth birthday and the fact that his children had begun to leave home. Many critics believe that, having at last come to terms with Dresden, he lost the major inspiration for much of his work; others feel that Slaughterhouse-Five may have been the single great novel that Vonnegut was capable of writing.

Whatever the cause, Breakfast of Champions marked the end of his depression and a return to the novel. In Breakfast of Champions, as in most of Vonnegut's work, there are very clear autobiographical tendencies. In this novel however, the author seems to be even more wrapped up in his characters than usual. He appears as Philboyd Sludge, the writer of the book, which stars Dwayne Hoover, a Pontiac dealer Vonnegut once ran a Saab dealership who goes berserk after reading a novel by Kilgore Trout, who also represents Vonnegut.

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Kurt Vonnegut's Crusade. State University of New York Press. Extence, Gavin June 25, The Huffington Post. Farrell, Susan E. Freese, Peter In Tally, Robert T. Critical Insights. Salem Press. Gannon, Matthew; Taylor, Wilson September 4, Grossman, Lev April 12, Harris, Paul December 3, Hattenhauer, Darryl Studies in Short Fiction. Hayman, David; Michaelis, David; et al.

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Archived from the original on November 8, Marvin, Thomas F. Kurt Vonnegut: A Critical Companion. Greenwood Publishing Group. Morais, Betsy August 12, The Atlantic. Morse, Donald E. Niose, David A. July 1, The Humanist. Archived from the original on September 24, Noble, David New York: Routledge. Rodriguez, Gregory April 16, Los Angeles Times.

Sharp, Michael D. Popular Contemporary Writers. Marshall Cavendish Reference. Shields, Charles J. Henry Holt and Company. Smith, Dinitia April 13, Strand, Ginger Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Sumner, Gregory American National Biography Online. Tally, Robert T. Continuum Books. Thomas, Peter L. Reading, Learning, Teaching Kurt Vonnegut.

Peter Lang. March 18, Vitale, Tom May 31, Vonnegut, Kurt January 21, Vonnegut, Kurt God Bless You, Dr. Vonnegut, Kurt June 28, Archived from the original on March 1, Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage. Dell Publishing. Random House Publishing. Dial Press. Wolff, Gregory October 25, Zinn, Howard; Arnove, Anthony Further reading [ edit ].

Library resources about Kurt Vonnegut. Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries. External links [ edit ]. Like Shaking Hands with God Portals : Biography Comedy Literature. But some of his stories are accomplished works in their own right, and many readers gain their first exposure to Vonnegut through these stories, which combine in condensed form Vonnegut's trademark humor, fantasy, and social commentary.

Dozens of Vonnegut's short stories, and two of his novels, appeared in the s. When his sister and her husband both died in , Vonnegut adopted their three eldest children. He and his first wife had three children of their own, and they later adopted a seventh. Due to his reputation as a science fiction writer, Vonnegut's first novels were published only as paperbacks with gaudy covers which misrepresented the novels and discouraged serious critical attention.

Rosewater were a significant improvement, although they sold only a few thousand copies. In , all of Vonnegut's novels were reissued in paperback, and he began to develop a significant underground following. During the s, Vonnegut published a collection of short stories and four more novels, including his sixth and greatest novel, Slaughterhouse Five.

The novel's popularity and broad critical acclaim focused new attention on Vonnegut's earlier work, and soon, The Sirens of Titan sold over , copies. He continued to write prolifically until his death, publishing his final novel, Timequake , in With its publication, he retired from fiction writing. His final publication is his lifetime was a book of essays entitled A Man without a Country He worked as a senior editor at In These Times , a progressive Chicago magazine, until his death.

It also marked the end of a period of depression that had followed his publication of Slaughterhouse Five. He was survived by his second wife, photographer Jill Krementz, their adopted daughter, Lily, and six children from his first marriage. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Nikki Giovanni. How Did Shakespeare Die? A Huge Shakespeare Mystery, Solved. Shakespeare Wrote 3 Tragedies in Turbulent Times. The Mystery of Shakespeare's Life and Death. William Shakespeare. Writing Debut: 'Player Piano' and 'Cat's Cradle' Showing Vonnegut's talent for satire, his first novel, Player Piano , took on corporate culture and was published in Further Success Emerging as a new literary voice, Vonnegut became known for his unusual writing style—long sentences and little punctuation—as well as his humanist point of view.