Kurt Vonnegut is one of the greatest American authors. His science fiction and satirical novels are timeless. Filled with dark humor, Vonnegut’s novels connected with the youth of the '60s and '70s. He has always worked to inspire his readers and help to push society in a more positive, loving and selfless direction.
1. His sense of humor
Vonnegut utilized his dark sense of humor in all 14 of his novels and he connected with a large group of youth not unlike our own – our parents. Vonnegut used humor to discuss subjects that, under all other circumstances, would make us cry. He used his wit to his advantage to provoke thought about travesties in American culture.
2. His view on life
Vonnegut valued life over all things. However, he saw that life was constantly wasted. One of his most defining moments that inspired "Slaughterhouse-Five" was the atrocities he witnessed in Dresden as a prisoner of war. He watched countless civilians murdered, towns destroyed and all of this because of greed and human nature. He was disgusted by the moments he was forced to watch.
3. He believed in fate
Vonnegut believed that everything happened for a reason. His characters function using stream of consciousness, bringing the reader to different points in the narrator’s life that the narrator will not, and cannot, change. He believed the paths we follow are destined and everything happens for a reason simply because it must.
4. He wrote about his own experiences
Many of Vonnegut’s novels were based on his own experiences. He wrote about his own life so that he could influence others to fulfill their own destiny and influence the world. He wrote about the things he despised in the world to help influence his readers to change the world. Vonnegut also believed that every writer inevitably writes about his own life and the fast way to write a novel was to intentionally write about his or her own experiences.
5. He hated political corruption
Vonnegut hated politics, not because he refuted the systems, but because of the corruption that coincides with the systems. In "Jailbird," Vonnegut openly attacks capitalism, communism and corporate America, constantly reassuring readers how corrupt and careless the political systems are. He uses the Watergate Scandal as his main basis, anchoring his views in the narrative account of Walter F. Starbucks.
6. He was existential
Vonnegut asked himself and his readers “Why?” Vonnegut wanted answers; he wanted to know what the meaning of life was, why we were put into our respective lives and why burdens and choices are placed upon us. He wanted to fulfill his self-direction, to fulfill his purpose in life, but above all, he wanted to know “Why?”
7. He wanted to inspire
Vonnegut wanted to inspire his readers to change the world, get answers to their questions, find fulfillment in their life and accomplishments. He told a group of school children in a letter as a response to the letters they sent him:
“Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.”
Vonnegut is a timeless author, and if you are interested in reading some of his works, as I hope you are, here is a full list of his literary achievement:
Player Piano (1952)
The Sirens of Titan (1959)
Mother Night (1961)
Cat’s Cradle (1963)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
Slapstick (1976)
Jailbird (1979)
Deadeye Dick (1982)
Galapagos (1985)
Bluebeard (1987)
Hocus Pocus (1990)
Timequake (1997)
