11th Grade – English – American Literature

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a one of the most prominent satirical writers of our time. He writes about the follies of men and society. In his novels The Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Cat’s Cradle we see the faults of mankind through its belief in false truths like religion and war. Vonnegut points out that many of the things we believe in are probably not true. He thinks that too many people simply accept ideas as being truths. He wants his readers to question society and their beliefs that are not backed up by logical reasoning. For example, religion is not founded on any scientific premises and Vonnegut thinks we should question why so many people believe in it. In The Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. urges his readers to question popular beliefs and ideas that are accepted by society. Vonnegut tells us to think independently and search for the truths in the world.

The book The Sirens of Titan is about the main character Malachi Constant and his travels through the universe to deliver a replacement part to a stranded alien ship. Though Malachi did not know until the end, every person in the world, including him, was being controlled by the alien to slowly deliver the replacement part to his ship. Throughout the book, there are many passages about religion and how people are pacified by illusions in the world. Vonnegut writes, “The Church was ready for a miracle… The prophecy was that the weary Space Traveler would be naked, that the suit of clothes would fit him like a glove. That suit was of such design as to fit no one but the right man well” (The Sirens of Titan 214). This event in the book had been set up to happen as it was predicted. The Church knew that the Space Traveler would come naked and had the suit specially made for him. It was not really a miracle. This quote shows how religion can be founded on lies. Many people believe in religion even though it may not be true. Vonnegut is saying that we should think independently and figure out our own ideas. Reed says of The Sirens of Titan:

It asserts that while an indifferent universe may confirm no purpose in our existence, we can give meaning to life by the way we lead it. This entails giving up the search for a rationale in the incomprehensible workings of the universe, the hunt for some answer from above, and turning to ourselves to provide meaning… (496)

Reed also says that Vonnegut is saying we are the ones that need to search for purpose ourselves. We need to think independently. We cannot always turn to religion to give us the answers because religions are not necessarily truthful.

Vonnegut talks about illusions that society believes in. There is often no evidence to credit these beliefs, ideas, or events, but people still acknowledge them. Vonnegut writes:

The materializations had been happening for nine years, once every fifty-nine days. The most learned and trustworthy men in the world had begged heartbrokenly for the privilege of seeing a materialization. No matter how the men worded their requests, they were turned down cold. The refusal was always the same, handwritten by Mrs. Rumfoord’s social secretary. (The Sirens of Titan 116)

The materializations are something that everyone believes in though they have never actually seen one. Some people try to question their credibility, but they find no answers. Vonnegut is showing that when we try to question popular beliefs, we may not always find the answers. He wants us to keep striving to find the answers. Olderman says of Vonnegut, “…he finds we have exhausted our values and can go on living only through the acceptance of illusions” (505). This is saying that many people live on illusions, like the materialization. Vonnegut wants people to question illusions, like religion, and think for themselves. He thinks it is crazy that so many people live by things that may not be true. This is why he wants us to think independently and find the answers ourselves.

In The Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut also talks about science. Science is something very highly valued by him. Science is actually backed by logical reasoning and it can be proved. Religion is something that is not backed by logical reasoning and it can not be proved. He writes, “Quit talking the language of science to each other! Nothing will be restrained from you which you have imagined to do, if you all keep on talking the language of science to each other, and I don’t want that!” (The Sirens of Titan 127). This quote shows how religions do not want people to learn about science. Science can discredit everything religion says are truths. Vonnegut thinks people should learn about science, so they can figure out what beliefs and ideas are true or not. Reed says that “Vonnegut places considerable emphasis on the fact that we know very little about a great deal” (498). This means that people do not really know that much about what is real. They do not know that much about science, which is a defining element of what is really a truth. People do not care to learn enough about science to determine what is real and what is not. There is a lot to be learned, but many people do not care because they are happy living on false facts.

Slaughterhouse-Five is about Billy Pilgrim and his hardships through World War II. The character Billy Pilgrim is actually based off of Kurt Vonnegut and his actual travels during the war. Vonnegut grew to despise war during his time in service. He was at the worst bombing of the war in Dresden. The book Slaughterhouse-Five is an anti-war book. Vonnegut believes that war is one of the greatest follies of mankind. He thinks war is just a very horrible experience that we should strive to avoid, but people think that it is the solution to everything. People also do not realize how horrible it is and how many people actually die during war. He writes:

The advocates of nuclear disarmament seem to believe that, if they could achieve their aim, war would become tolerable and decent. They would do well to read this book and ponder the fate of Dresden, where 135,000 people died as the result of an air attack with conventional weapons. On the night of March 9th, 1945, an air attack on Tokyo by American heavy bombers, using incendiary and high explosive bombs, caused the death of 83,793 people. The atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 71,379 people. So it goes. (Slaughterhouse-Five 188)

This shows how he thinks people want war to be an acceptable thing, but if people would just look at the numbers of the people dead, we would realize how horrible it is. Vonnegut wants us to question the idea of war and search for the truth of how inhumane it really is. McNelly writes of Slaughterhouse-Five:

In these journeys, Billy, who is both Vonnegut and a modern Everyman, seeks an answer to the inevitable questions about suffering. In addition, he ponders the incredible violence of war, its insanity and blind cruelty, and probes the proud flesh of an American society that – an even greater horror to Vonnegut – has managed to ignore the moral responsibility for Dresden as well as the ethical implications of the senseless attack. (452)

McNelly is also says how Vonnegut is showing that war is a horrific thing and that most Americans have not even heard about the bombing of Dresden. It is a fact that is hidden from us, so that we do not realize how many people could be killed in just one attack. Vonnegut thinks this is horrible and that we need to search for the truths about war.

Vonnegut talks about how we need to try to make a difference in our lives and the world. He writes, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to tell the difference. Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future” (Slaughterhouse-Five 60). The reason why Billy could not change the past, the present, and the future is because of war. Reed says, “War provides the ultimate measure of man’s folly, his inhumanity, his inability to match means and ends, and his incapacity to maintain an ordered control over his destiny…” (498). War takes control over Billy. He is stuck in the military and must do what he is ordered to do. The war takes away his ability to question ideas and think individually. He is not able to change anything while he is in the war. Vonnegut shows how war is bad in that it is very violent, but he also shows how war in bad in that we cannot control our actions.

Vonnegut uses one quote many times throughout the novel. He says, “So it goes” (Slaughterhouse-Five 106). It is a very simple sentence with a powerful message. This quote is used every time someone dies in the book, and because it is said so many times, the reader realizes that there are a lot of people that die during the war. The quote also shows that nothing is challenged when someone dies. People do not realize that when someone dies it is a big deal. Vonnegut wants to point out how people can be ignorant and we should not fall in that category. We should just not accept deaths as numbers, but as actual people. Society does not always think this way. Kazin writes, “It is the idea of human vulnerability: we are still too innocent in the face of war to offer any political explanation or protest” (505). This quote shows how society just accepts war and its consequences, such as death, without protest. Vonnegut wants us to question war and to search for the real truths of war.

The book Cat’s Cradle is about the main character John searching for information to write a novel, called The Day the World Ended, of events leading up to the day the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. His search for information leads him to the day the world is actually destroyed. In Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut talks a lot about science and religion. He writes about how religion is based on lies and that science can disprove it. There is a fictional religion in the book, called Bokononism, which everyone follows. Bokononism is introduced through this passage:

‘I do not intend that this book be a tract on behalf of Bokononism. I should like to offer a Bokononist warning about it, however. The first sentence in The Books of Bokonon is this: ‘All of the things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.’ My Bokononist warning is this: Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either.’ (Cat’s Cradle 5)

Vonnegut is criticizing all religions in this passage. He is saying they might as well start off their scriptures saying that everything they are about to read is a lie. He thinks we should question religions and search for meaning in life ourselves. Klinkowitz says of Vonnegut, “He consistently portrays the masses the ’little people’…as grotesque or despicable, or just stupid, unthinking sheep” (563). Vonnegut considers people who do not think independently to be “stupid, unthinking sheep.” They are people of society who simply do what everyone else is doing. Vonnegut wants people to search for the truths, such as the truth about religion.

Vonnegut does not consider religion to be true because none of it is based on scientific reasoning. He writes, “‘New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.’ Had I been a Bokononist then, that statement would have made me howl” (Cat’s Cradle 41). Vonnegut is showing how religions do not like how we are learning more and more every day. Bokononism is based off of lies, and the more we know, the less credible Bokononism would be. The same applies with our religions. Olderman says, “The universe he pictures is indifferent to man and man spends his time trying to twist that indifference into order and meaning” (505). Vonnegut wants us to take what we know and apply our knowledge to search for the truths, as Olderman says. Vonnegut does not think it is right to just accept whatever society accepts. We need to think independently.

Vonnegut believes that science is the one thing to clarify all questions. Science can discredit or credit all ideas and beliefs. He writes, “’The trouble with the worlds was,’ she continued hesitatingly, ‘that people were still superstitious instead of scientific. He said if everybody would study science more, there wouldn’t be all the trouble there was’” (Cat’s Cradle 24). This shows how Vonnegut thinks science is the answer to everything. Science would solve many problems if people would just take the time to learn about it. He wants us to question popular beliefs and ideas with science. Schulz writes:

Cat’s Cradle is a novel about the varieties of truth available to man: scientific, religious, political, social, economic, humanistic. Ultimately, in its presentation of the open-ended, unconfirmable dilemma of human knowledge and wisdom, the novel sardonically blurs veracity and faslehood, treating them as interchangeable for all practical human purposes. It refuses to confirm what is reality.” (348)

This shows how there are many different truths in the world, and many of them contradict each other. Vonnegut wants us to search for the real truths; he wants us to find the facts. Without the facts, we will be lost in a jumble of contradictory beliefs and ideas. He wants us to find the truths and set ourselves apart from the rest of the ignorant society.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a satirical author that writes about the follies of men. Specifically, he writes about how people accept whatever society accepts and how people should question popular ideas and beliefs, like religion and war. In The Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. urges his readers to question popular beliefs and ideas that are accepted by society. Vonnegut tells us to think independently and search for the truths in the world.

Works Cited

Kazin, Alfred. Bright Book of Life: American Novelists & Storytellers from Hemingway to Mailer. Atlantic Monthly Press, 1973.

Klinkowitz, Jerome. The Vonnegut Statement. Dell Publishing, 1973.

Kroll, Jack. “No More Heroes.” Newsweek October 1970: 123.

McNelly, Willis E. “Science Fiction-The Modern Mythology.” America September 1970: 125-27.

Nicol, Charles. “The Ideas of an Anti-Intellectual.” National Review September 1973: 1064-65.

Olderman, Raymond M. Beyond the Waste Land: A Study of the American Novel in the Nineteen-Sixties. Yale University Press, 1973.

Reed, Peter J. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. Warner Paperback Library, 1972.

Schatt, Stanley. “The World of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr..” Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction 1971: 54-69.

Schulz, Max F. “The Unconfirmed Thesis: Kurt Vonnegut, Black Humor, and Contemporary Art.” Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction 1971: 5-28.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle. New York: Dell Publishing, 1963.

—. Slaughterhouse-5. New York: Dell Publishing, 1969.

—. The Sirens of Titan. New York: Dell Publishing, 1959.

The American dream is something common to all people, but it is something that everyone views in different ways. The American dream is different for everyone, but they share some of the same aspects of it. The dream is dependent mainly on the setting of where one lives and one‘s social status. For example, The Declaration of Independence was by Thomas Jefferson, who was an upper class white male. He wanted freedom, but freedom for people like himself that were white landowning males. Martin Luther King, in his I Have a Dream speech, also called for freedom, but mostly for African Americans like himself. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his book The Great Gatsby, that he would have liked to eliminate the idle rich, which he was a part of. Every American dream is somewhat different, but they all relate to the times that one lives in.

In The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson asked for equality for white landowning males. His American dream was to be free from Britain and to be treated equally. This dream only included people like himself, that were white men who owned land. The people that signed the document were all part of that class. They were the people leading the revolution, so Jefferson thought they should be the ones reaping the benefits. In the text, it talks about “the merciless Indian Savages.” Obviously they were not included as being equal. Jefferson also wrote “We…the Representatives of the united States of America…” He was referring to himself and everyone who signed The Declaration of Independence, none of whom were women or black. Jefferson also wrote “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…” He specifically used the word “men,” when he could have said “all people” instead. This also shows how his dream was for all men to be treated equally. Jefferson’s dream is different from Martin Luther King’s dream in the specifics, but in the whole they are the same dream. Both want equality for their people, the people that are in the same class and race they are in. Jefferson’s dream is fairly different than F. Scott Fitzgerald’s dream in principal, but the dreams are similar in that they both want change for the better. Their dreams also focused on the social class they belonged to.

Martin Luther King’s American dream is to have equality for everyone, but namely African Americans. In his I Have a Dream speech, he said, “…we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.” He was saying that even though America is supposed to be a free country, African Americans were really not free and treated equally. King said, “…the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” African Americans were not given good job opportunities. They were isolated and it was hard for them to live comfortably when all the families with white males could have high paying jobs and affords the comforts of life. He also said, “This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.” King was referring to The Declaration of Independence, which had been aimed to gain equality for white males. Colored citizens were not included in it, and this was wrong. King was saying how the document was supposed to promise freedom for all people, but that this was not true at all. African Americans were not free, and they had to live a hard life full of segregation and discrimination. He did not really ask for equality of all people though, like Asian or Hispanic people, but mainly black people like himself. This makes King’s American dream very similar to Jefferson’s American dream because they both wanted equality for their people. The dream is different from Fitzgerald’s dream, but they are similar because they both demanded positive change and they focused on their specific social classes.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American dream was to eliminate the idle rich. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald showed his distaste for them. One character, Tom, had an affair with another women. Tom brushed it off as nothing when talking about it. He lied to his wife Daisy quite often, so he could get away from her for a weekend. Fitzgerald showed how this was wrong, and that it should be stopped. Gatsby, another character, would throw parties all of the time. Anyone would come, even if they didn’t know Gatsby. The partiers made a lot of noise at late hours of the night and left big messes for the maids to clean up in the morning. Fitzgerald was showing how the rich are careless. They have no respect for anyone and only think of themselves. Also, when Gatsby died, no one attended his funeral. This showed how all his rich “friends” didn’t even care enough to come to his funeral. Fitzgerald was a part of the idle rich. He had a good amount of money, drank a lot, partied often, and had affairs. His American dream related to the class that he was a part of, just like Jefferson and King. All of their dreams dealt with the part of society they belonged to. Fitzgerald wanted change like the others too, but he wanted to change who he was. Jefferson and King wanted to change other people’s perspective of them.

Jefferson, King, and Fitzgerald’s American dreams shared similarities. All of their dreams had to deal with the social class they belonged to. Jefferson’s dream dealt with white landowning males, King’s dream dealt with African Americans, and Fitzgerald’s dream dealt with the idle rich. All of their dreams also dealt with change for the better. My American dream is to go to college, have an enjoyable job, get married, have kids, and have a nice house. My dream is probably what most upper-middle class people aspire for. This makes my dream similar in that it deals with my social class. It is also a change for the better. I don’t want to live in my parents’ house all my life. The American dream is universal in that everyone hopes for positive change and that the change deals with their place in society. The American dream something that everyone aspires for, even if it is hard to accomplish. It is the thing that keeps people going.

The book Cat’s Cradle is about our protagonist, John (or Jonah), who has set out to write a book about what important Americans had done on the day when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The book is called The Day the World Ended. To write the book, John writes a letter to Felix Hoenikker, who is the creator of the atomic bomb, to gather information. Felix is dead however, and his son Newt replies. Newt tells him some information, but he doesn’t know that much because he was very young when the bomb was dropped. John then flies over to the town of Ilium, which is where the Hoenikkers lived. John gathers some information from the townspeople. He learns that there was another son of Felix, named Frank that had been missing for a long time and was thought to be dead. John was then hired to write an article about Julian Castle, who was a millionaire on the island of San Lorenzo. On the plane ride, John noticed Newt and Angelo. He discovers that their brother Frank was living in San Lorenzo. John talks to the Hoenikker children about their father. He learns about ice-nine, which is a substance their father invented that turns water into ice instantly. It could turn all the water in the world into ice in minutes. Felix only made a very small amount of it, and gave a little bit to each of his children. When the ruler of San Lorenzo, Papa, dies, he swallows some ice-nine, which Frank gave to him. Frank had given him some in order to gain his high authority and income on the island. The ice-nine could be a deadly weapon. They must be very careful with Papa’s body because if it were to touch water, the whole world would come to an end. They are very careful with his body and put him in a closet. Then later that day there is an air-show for some holiday in San Lorenzo. One of the planes crashes into Papa’s house, which is on the edge of a cliff, and knocks him into the ocean. This causes all the water to turn into ice because of the ice-nine and it brings the world to an end. It was iron how John was writing a book called The Day the World Ended and his research brought him to the actual day the world ended.

The theme of the book is about the search for truth. The book start “Call me Jonah,” which parodies the book Moby-Dick that starts “Call me Ishmael.” The book Moby-Dick is also a book about the search for truth. During the book, John is searching for truth about Felix Hoenikker, who is the creator of the atomic bomb. The whole story is about him going from place to place, talking to people to find information about him. The book also talks about religion a lot. Vonnegut questions religion many times, saying it is all lies, and this is another part about searching for the truth. The search for information about Felix is a search for the truths about science, which is compared to religion. There is a made up religion in the story, called Bokononism, which John learns about and tries to discover the truths about. While learning information about it, he find out that it is all lies. The two ideas of religion and science are researched by John to discover their truths.

The book Slaughterhouse 5 is based off of Kurt Vonnegut’s own war experiences during World War II. Vonnegut was present in Dresden, Germany during the bombings, which killed about twice the number of people that died in Hiroshima. The story starts out with him describing how he had a lot of trouble remembering anything worth writing about the war. The story took him around 20 years to write, because he wanted to make sure he got his message across just right. Vonnegut feels very strongly about war. The main character is Billy Pilgrim. He represents Vonnegut. Billy is a skinny, quiet guy that looks very out of place at war. The story begins talking about Billy’s life, but then time and setting jumps around constantly. One moment he is in Germany during the war, the next moment he is home in America. It is supposed to be like a Tralfamadorian book, which is described in the story as a book where everything is all happening at once, and there is no beginning or end. The Tralfamadorians are aliens that abduct Billy and take him to their planet. They tell him about time travel; the idea that every moment is still happening at some time and you can travel back or forward to that time. They also tell him that every moment has happened in the future, so the future is set and you can not change your destiny. During the story, Billy sees all the tragedies and hardships of war. He sees people dead and dying, but it is not described in much detail. This is probably to show that death is common during war. Billy never seems happy during the war at all. Once he gets back from war the plot is fairly random. It talks about Billy living with the aliens, Billy getting married, and other things that happened in his life. It is really hard to sequence the story in order because it jumps around so much. There is basically no plot, and there are no main characters besides Billy.

This is supposed to be an anti-war book, but I did not really sense that theme very much. The biggest theme I sensed in the book was the theme that you can not control your destiny; the idea that everything is predetermined and there is nothing you can do about it. There was a quote that went, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.” This is basically saying that you can’t really change anything because if you are changing something, you are not really changing anything because it is already planned to happen that way. Another part that shows this theme is while Billy is in the war one of his companions, Weary, dies and he blames it on Billy. Another soldier, Lazzaro says he will have Billy killed because Weary was his only friend. Lazzaro says he doesn’t know when or how, but he will have Billy killed. There is a sense that Billy cannot do anything to prevent it. Sure enough Lazzaro has someone shoot Billy. One last time I noticed this theme was when the Tralfamadorians tell Billy about how the future has already happened and everything is already planned.

The characters in the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, have a lot of pride. They are all known as good citizens, for one reason or another, and they all would like to keep their good name. John Proctor would like to be known as the man who sticks up for the little person and always does the right thing. Reverend Parris is known for being the churchly figure that lives by the bible and its teachings. Judge Danforth wants to be known as a steadfast judge who always makes the right decisions. When put in a tough situation dealing with life or death, all of these characters choose to keep their reputations rather than do the right thing or saving their lives. The importance of having a good name is a very prominent theme in The Crucible.

John Proctor is the model citizen. He has good morals and tries to do the right things. He protects the innocent and does not budge from his beliefs. He has built up a lot of respect for his name. That is why it is hard for Proctor to give up his good name. Everyone sees him as the good guy. For example, Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams. He can use this evidence in court to show that she is guilty, but he is reluctant to. He tries to find other ways to prove her guilty without losing his respect. Also, Proctor is able to get away free if he agrees to sign a paper saying he was an ally of the devil. He struggles to lie that he did work with the devil. When he is asked to sign a paper saying this, he can’t. The document would be hung on the church door for all to see. His reputation would be ruined. He stood up in court to save peoples lives by saying the truth, and it didn’t work. Proctor is able to save his own life by lying, but he just can not. He sees the others go down as noble people. It is not right to lie, so Proctor tears up the document and hangs with the others. He could not live with the guilt that his name would be tainted forever.

Reverend Parris does not want his good name to be tarnished either. Parris is known throughout the town as the churchly figure. Most citizens do not like his personality, but he is respected for his belief in religion. During the trials, Parris knows deep down that some of the people are not guilty. However, if he were to stand up for them and say they are innocent, he would be going against the bible. When he says that someone did not see the devil, he himself would be accused of making a pact with the devil. Parris has no respect other than his respect for being very religious. If he were to loose this respect, he would be ruined. He would be treated very poorly and he could do nothing about it. Parris can not loose his good name.

Lastly, Judge Danforth is known as a stolid judge who makes the right decisions and does not back down from them. Eventually, deep down he realizes that he is hanging innocent people. He knows that Abigail is putting on a show. Unfortunately, he has sentenced too many people before realizing this. If he were to back down, he would be showing that he killed innocent people and that he was wrong. He is known as being just and right. His name would be ruined. He could not do anything to gain his respect back. He would be questioned for his decisions in the past. He would loose his job. This is why Judge Danforth will not give up his good name.

Having a good reputation is very important in The Crucible. It means you can be accepted by society. If you do not have a good name, you will be completely rejected. John Proctor would no longer be thought of a morally straight and righteous person. Reverend Parris would loose all his respect and not be accepted by society. Judge Danforth would be constantly questioned and loose his job. Keeping and maintaining your good name is an overwhelming theme in The Crucible.

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher is the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caufield emerges from a trying and emotional series of events and does not grow emotionally but remains as immature as he was at the beginning of the novel. The story is about the difficulties of growing up. Most people come out of their teenager years as more responsible and mature people. Holden goes through many stressful events during the weekend, but instead of coming out more mature and grown up, he still has the same childish views on life; he is violent minded, depressed, confused, and irresponsible. Throughout the whole novel, Holden fantasizes about killing people, he is baffled by sex, and he does not think out his actions.

During the beginning of the story, Holden thinks about killing people many times. He wanted to kill Stradlater, his roommate, for dating Jane Gallagher, his old friend. Holden knew what kind of guy Stradlater was and he was afraid he took advantage of Jane. Holden actually does fight Stradlater but gets hurt pretty badly. He then puts his hunting hat on and says it is a “people shooting” hat. Later on in the story, Holden again thinks about killing people. When Maurice, the pimp, hurts Holden and steals his money, Holden pretends that he had been shot in the stomach and his guts were falling out. He then pretends that he is staggering down the stairs with a gun to shoot Maurice and get revenge. Holden does not actually do this, but it shows how he is immature and violent. Also, while Holden is visiting Phoebe’s school, he sees that someone has written “fuck” on the wall. He becomes very angry and wants the bash the skull of whoever did that on the marble floor so they are all bloody. Again we see that Holden has much anger in him. He does not know how to deal with it and that shows he has not grown up.

Holden also does not ever figure out his views on sex. At the beginning he hates Stradlater because he takes advantage of girls. He says has never done anything to a girl because he always stops when they say “stop”. Holden says that he would have to really like the girl’s face and really get to know the person before he could have sex with them. When Holden gets to New York he calls Faith Cavendish, who he thinks is a stripper. He does not even know her but he wants to have sex with her. This goes against everything he said before. Then when Holden gets to the hotel Maurice offers Holden a hooker and he accepts. Holden then does not do anything with her because he is nervous and it does not seem right to him. Once again Holden is confused about sex. It is a foreign thing to him and he never figures it out. He has ideals that he sets for himself but he never follows through. He even tries to ask Carl Luce, an old friend, about sex but Carl is uncomfortable talking about it and Holden learns nothing new. Holden never learns how to control his emotions and actions about love and sex.

Lastly, Holden does not learn how to think out his actions. In the beginning, Holden makes numerous wrong decisions. He runs away from Pencey without even telling his parents he was kicked out. That was a bad decision because when his parents will have found out he would have been in even more trouble for not telling them. Holden also constantly lies to people throughout the book, which shows his immaturity. Later in the book Holden makes some really poor spur of the moment choices too. He scares Sally Hayes, a girl he goes on a date with, by telling her that they should get married and move up north and live in a cabin. He urges her to do it and even raises his voice. Sally cries and says he is crazy. This shows how Holden does not think out his actions, which in turn hurts himself and others. He also spends money without thinking. Holden spends money on taxis, hotel rooms, food, dates, and the nuns. He does not think about managing his money and then he is forced to take his sister Phoebe’s Christmas money. This hurts himself because he does not want to take Phoebe’s money and it also hurts her because she does not have money to buy people presents. Holden’s lack of thinking hurts himself and others. Lastly, Holden plans to run away to the west and just get away from everyone. He would have done it but Phoebe stops him. Running away would have been really dumb because he didn’t have much money or anywhere to go. Holden never learns to think out his actions and this shows that he does not grow up.

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher is the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caufield emerges from a trying and emotional series of events and does not grow emotionally but remains as immature as he was at the beginning of the novel. Holden has a violent mind and he thinks about killing people throughout the novel. He also never figures out his views on sex. He thinks he knows his views on sex and what he would do put in certain situations, but he does not follow through with his ideals. Holden also never learns how to think out his decisions. He makes many choices without putting much thought into them and this hurts himself as well as others. Holden Caufield did not emerge from that weekend as a more mature person.

I read the book Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut. The word slapstick is used for some sort of comedy so the title, Slapstick, refers to the book being harshly funny and unserious. There is also an “alternative” title to the book, Lonesome No More! This refers to when the main character, Wilbur, becomes president and creates new middle names for everyone so anywhere they go they will be able to find someone they are related to, hence, Lonesome No More!

The story is organized by flashbacks. It starts out with the main character, Wilbur, being all washed up then he basically just tells the story of his life and how he got to where is he presently. The story takes place in the United States during the not so distant future. During the flashbacks, Wilbur is at his isolated house growing up, which I think was in the southeast. Then he goes to the northeast for schooling which was in the city. Gravity changes in the book, sometimes it’s light and sometimes it’s heavy. This is the only part of the “weather” we really see. The affect the setting has is that you can just imagine what it would be like if everything that happened in the book really happens in the future. If the setting was is the past you would not believe any of it because the past already happened, but because it is in the future you can actually almost picture some of the events happening. Also because everything takes place in the United States it gives you an even better reference to picture everything because that is where we live.

The main characters in the book are Wilbur (Daffodil-11) Swain and Eliza Swain. They a brother and sister whom are both ugly and alone they are nothing. Together they are super geniuses. Wilbur is able to write information down very well but he is horrible at speaking. Eliza is the opposite; she can orally present information well but she can’t read or write. They also both yearn to be with each other but unintentionally they have sex, which is weird. Wilbur wants her out of his life once he is on his own but Eliza always teases him into wanting to be with her. Wilbur’s acts kindly, but doesn’t really think out actions and the consequences. Eliza is similar to this but to a greater extent. She just kind of lets herself go; whatever happens, happens. She is nice for the most part. They both also seem insecure because they are so different from the rest of society. Physically they are both really tall and developed during their teens. Wilbur even has gray hair. They are both really ugly, but Eliza is the ugliest.

The plot is that Wilbur and Eliza together are some of the smartest people on earth. When they are apart they are just normal dumb people. Growing up they learned as much as they could from book and they wrote papers (one of which the Chinese wanted to help them solve something.) They both act really dumb around people because they don’t know that anyone wants them to act smart. Their parents don’t know what to do with them. After some testing Wilbur is the only child that can potentially do something in the world because he can read and write; Eliza can only orally produce information. So they are separated and Wilbur goes on to school and college. He eventually runs for president and wins. His campaign was that he would make new middle names for everyone so they would have new relatives throughout the United States. “Lonesome No More” was his slogan and it won him the presidency. Ironically this plan doesn’t work out because people are angry and the United States is a mess. His sister dies and that’s basically it. The point of the book is more the smaller details in it that make it funny.

The theme of the book in fairly hard to tell because it is not a very serious book. What I got from it was about loneliness and alienation. I think the message is that you need to stay with the people you love and that you can’t just replace people in your life. The reason I believe this is because Wilbur and Eliza were happy being together and they also functioned better together. When they were separated they both became really messed up people. Eliza became really ugly and had no real place in society, and Wilbur became addicted to Tourrette’s syndrome medication because he was insecure. Wilbur also created relatives for people so they wouldn’t be lonely but this plan didn’t really work. Also, the books alternative title, Lonesome No More!, suggests that theme.

The most interesting scene in the book is when Wilbur and Eliza find out that their parents want them to show some signs of intelligence so they decide to act smart for their parents. They made a big sign saying something on the lines that they have become smart and they put it in their parents to see when they woke up. Their parents were totally dumbfounded and upset. They suddenly didn’t want them to act intelligent. So Wilbur and Eliza went back to being stupid and acting like babies. I thought it was pretty funny.

At first, I thought Slapstick was a bad book. When I was reading it I was more reading it just to get it read rather than enjoy it. I think if I were to read it again and take the time to enjoy the comical parts I would have liked it a lot more. The humor in it is crude at times but it’s likeable. When I had just finished reading it I didn‘t like it, but when I thought back on it some parts were actually really funny, so if one were go in with the mindset to enjoy the book, they would really like it.