Breaking Down Vonnegut

A practical guide to Vonnegut’s works for young adults, secondary, and college students Kurt Vonnegut was a prolific American writer whose career spanned more than 50 years. Vonnegut’s world is a complex web. His books, short stories, and essays are among the gems of American literature, exploring themes of historical events and human limitations. Written for young adults through adulthood, the goal of Breaking Down Vonnegut is to relate essential facts about Kurt Vonnegut’s life and to address the themes underlying his imaginary worlds. Breaking Down Vonnegut features an overview of Vonnegut’s life and an investigation of the midwestern values that were challenged by his imprisonment by the Nazis during his wartime military service. Those themes, often cloaked in science fiction, historical parallels, and social science conundrums, address the major questions of life: the values by which we choose to live. Author Julia Whitehead is the founder and CEO of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis. Her ten years of experience leading the organization and learning about Vonnegut impelled her to share her knowledge and insight with fans and those new to Vonnegut’s life and work. Breaking Down Vonnegut Showcases the multiple genres in Vonnegut’s world Provides a brief thematic tour through two of Vonnegut’s books and one short story Offers three chapters of biographical information Explains why Kurt Vonnegut will remain one of the great American voices heard around the world This is the first book of its kind for middle and secondary students, and it will also delight educators, parents, and anyone interested in or studying Vonnegut’s life and work.

About the Author xi About the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii Part I Chapter One: There Was Always Someone to Talk with, to Play with, to Learn From 3 Part II Chapter Two: I Look Sort of Starved 15 Part III Chapter Three: Player Piano and a Trustworthy Prophet or Sharp-Eyed Satirist 29 Chapter Four: “Harrison Bergeron”: A Twist on David and Goliath for the Civil Rights Era 41 Chapter Five: Slaughterhouse-Five and a New Kind of Patriot 51 Part IV Chapter Six: The True Measure of a Man 67 Chapter Seven: Why Study Vonnegut? 79 Notes 89 Index 95