Introduction


Kurt Vonnegut

What do you get if you cross satire, dark humor, science fiction, and pessimism? You get Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., a man who wrote about tragically horrible moments but made them so funny that he became one of the twentieth century’s foremost American authors. Certainly Vonnegut was allowed to write about tragedy: his mother committed suicide on Mother’s Day while he was home on leave during WWII; he was one of only seven American POW survivors during the firebombing of Dresden; his sister, Alice, died of cancer just days after her husband died in a train accident; and Vonnegut himself attempted suicide on at least one occasion. He managed, however, to blend his bleak view of the world with a dry, sharp sense of humor that continues to entertain and engage reading audiences today.

Essential Facts

  1. In addition to being one of the top-selling American authors of the twentieth century, Vonnegut is an accomplished graphic artist. He has produced illustrated editions of Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions, and he even created an album cover for the progressive rock band Phish.
  2. In his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut listed eight rules for writing a short story. The first and presumably most important is this: “Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.”
  3. He majored in biochemistry, mechanical engineering, and anthropology at various colleges but never completed a degree in any of them.
  4. A contemporary classic, Slaughterhouse Five was named after his holding cell as a POW during WWII.
  5. He has an asteroid named in his honor—asteroid 25399 vonnegut.
 

Recommended Resources

  1. Kurt Vonnegut - Criticism
  2. Slaughterhouse-Five Lesson Plans
  3. Slaughterhouse-Five Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. Author Profile
  2. Bluebeard Book Review
  3. Breakfast of Champions (1998)
  4. Breakfast of Champions quickNotes
  5. Cat's Cradle - Book Review
  6. Cat's Cradle - Literary Characters
  7. Cat's Cradle - Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature
  8. Cat's Cradle - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
  9. Cat's Cradle quickNotes
  10. Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  11. Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  12. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  13. Deadeye Dick quickNotes
  14. Galapagos - Book Review
  15. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater - Literary Characters
  16. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
  17. Harrison Bergeron - Masterplots II: Short Story Series
  18. Harrison Bergeron Study Guide
  19. Hocus Pocus - Book Review
  20. Hocus Pocus Criticism
  21. Hocus Pocus quickNotes
  22. Jailbird - Literary Characters
  23. Jailbird - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
  24. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 1)
  25. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 12)
  26. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 2)
  27. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 3)
  28. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 4)
  29. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 5)
  30. Kurt Vonnegut - Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vol. 8)
  31. Kurt Vonnegut - Criticism
  32. Kurt Vonnegut Censorship
  33. Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron (1995)
  34. Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House
  35. Mother Night (1996)
  36. Mother Night - Literary Characters
  37. Mother Night - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
  38. Player Piano - Identities and Issues in Literature
  39. Player Piano - Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature
  40. Slaughterhouse Five (1972)
  41. Slaughterhouse-Five - American Decades 1960's The Arts
  42. Slaughterhouse-Five - Book Review
  43. Slaughterhouse-Five - Character Profiles
  44. Slaughterhouse-Five - Identities and Issues in Literature
  45. Slaughterhouse-Five - Literary Places
  46. Slaughterhouse-Five - Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature
  47. Slaughterhouse-Five Lesson Plans
  48. Slaughterhouse-Five Study Guide (eNotes)
  49. Slaughterhouse-Five; or, The Children's Crusade quickNotes
  50. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Kurt Vonnegut
  51. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on Kurt Vonnegut
  52. The Sirens of Titan - Literary Characters
  53. The Sirens of Titan - Literary Places
  54. The Sirens of Titan - Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature
  55. Timequake Criticism