Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

The Early Years

Born - November 11, 1922, Indianapolis, Indiana

Father- wealthy architect Family’s wealth diminished when the

Great Depression hit and Kurt Sr. couldn’t find work Parents had trouble accepting the fact that they

were no longer wealthy Mother committed suicide on May 14, 1944

(Mother’s Day) (he was away at war) Father retreated into himself until his death in

1957

Education/Writing

Shortridge Daily Echo - the first daily high school newspaper in the country

Cornell University - double major (bio and chem!) Brother Bernard was a scientist - discovered

cloud seeding to induce precipitation Struggled with bio & chem Excelled as Managing Editor for Cornell Daily

Sun (school newspaper) By 1943- almost asked to leave Cornell, joined

Army instead

Dresden

Became German POW after being captured in the Battle of the Bulge

Sent to Dresden “The Florence on the Elbe” No military significance

Sent to work in vitamin syrup factory February 13, 1945 - Allied forces

firebombed Dresden (incendiary bombs)

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and

exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do

afterward.”

Dresden, cont’d.

Debate about number of casualities from bombing (35,000 - 350,000)

Vonnegut and fellow POWs survived Making vitamins in an underground meat locker After bombing, put to work cleaning up bodies -

too many, so the Germans brought in flame throwers

Sent home in May of 1945 Received Purple Heart for what he called a

“ludicrously negligible wound” Owes career to experience in Dresden

Family Life

Married - Jane Marie Cox (high school sweetheart)

Three children of their own Later adopted his sister’s three

children after her death in 1958

Employment

Graduate student at University of Chicago Anthropology major (the study of

humankind and human cultures/societies) Thesis was rejected, did not receive degree

Newspaper reporter Teacher (yay!) Public relations employee for General

Electric in Schenectedy, NY Ran a Saab dealership

Religious Beliefs

Believed that religious doctrines were “so much arbitrary, clearly invented balderdash”

Rejected divinity of Jesus but admired him nonetheless

The Beatitudes found in the Bible in the book of Matthew, chapter 5 (Jesus’ sermon on the mount) informed his own secular humanist outlook.http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfmb=Mat&c=5&v=1&t=ESV#1

Fatalism

"All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental.” (from Timequake)

Fatalism - the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable

How would the belief in fatalism guide someone’s everyday actions?

Literary Life

Player Piano (1952) took on corporate culture

Cat’s Cradle (1963) satirizes the Arms Race, addresses science, technology, and religion University of Chicago accepted this as his thesis The Grateful Dead - Ice Nine

Slaughterhouse-Five (1968) exploration of the human condition mixed with

the fantastical, semi-autobiographical A Man Without a Country (2005)

collection of essays, mostly political

Writing Style

Long sentences Little punctuation Humanist point of view

Satire - the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

Writing Style

Repetition Allusions (religious, literary,

classical) Use of an alter-ego (see if you can

figure out who it is) “Combination of simplicity, irony,

and rue” Blended literature with science fiction and

humor, the absurd with pointed social commentary

Later in Life

Taught creative writing at Harvard Got divorced (and later remarried Jill

Krementz [a photographer]) Saw his son Mark suffer and recover

from a psychotic breakdown Attempted suicide (1984) Died April, 2007- head injuries due

to a fall in his home (ironic)

Utopia vs. Dystopia Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is

ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions.

* Is there a true, completely Utopian society in our world?

Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system.

Introducing… Harrison Bergeron

Harrison Bergeron Written by: Kurt Vonnegut Literary Genre: Science Fiction,

Dystopian Literature, Short Story

prop·a·gan·da Noun /ˌpräpəˈgandə/

Information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Definition of Propaganda

Characteristics of Dystopian Literature• Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.• Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted. • A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society. • Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance. • Citizens have a fear of the outside world. • Citizens live in a dehumanized state. • The natural world is banished and distrusted. • Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad. • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

The Dystopian Protagonist: (Harrison)

• often feels trapped and is struggling to escape. • questions the existing social and political systems. • believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives. • helps the audience recognizes the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.

Watch and note all of the characteristics of Dystopian literature as we read and annotate the Vonnegut’s short story, Harrison Bergeron.

Write down examples of these characteristics on the accompanying worksheet you receive.