What a Wonderful World? Running Head: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD?

What a Wonderful World? How Kurt Vonnegut Inspires Societal Reform Edward Gong English 3 Honors

What a Wonderful World? Abstract Kurt Vonnegut combats social issues in a unique manner; rather than explicitly stating society's various imperfections, he undermines these flaws by writing satirical works. This paper investigates how he draws attention to war, weapon development, egalitarianism, and

mechanization through irony and hyperbole. His inspirational works inspire individuals to fight for a better society.

What a Wonderful World? What a Wonderful World? How Kurt Vonnegut Inspires Societal Reform

Beyond ridiculing their subjects and providing a source of humor, satirical works expose the imperfections in humanity through the use of irony and hyperbole. Satire is a weapon. Kurt Vonnegut wields this weapon, taking advantage of every aspect of it. Vonnegut wrote numerous works including Player Piano, Cat's Cradle, Harrison Bergeron, and Slaughterhouse-Five, all of which relate to the downhill development of technology, or the impaired structure of society. Player Piano discusses the negative aspects of mechanization, the process of replacing human labor with machinery. Cat's Cradle warns Americans against further developing weapons by illustrating the potential dangers that it can lead to. Harrison Bergeron attempts to deter the American government from enforcing laws that promote equality by demonstrating equality's negative effects. Slaughterhouse-Five demonstrates how war can tear people and communities apart. Vonnegut's approach toward societal reform is unique; he writes satirical literature to expose rising societal threats, thereby inspiring the progression of humanity. Kurt Vonnegut made it his goal to correct societal problems through literature. [Vonnegut] was the 1992 Humanist of the Year and honorary president of the American Humanist Association (Friedman). The American Humanist Association and its members greatly value the betterment of society, a principle that Vonnegut supports through all of his works. Vonnegut was a victim of war, which explains why Cat's Cradle (1963) and Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) speak so passionately against it. In the year 1944, Vonnegut served as a soldier in the Battle of the Bulge, during which he was captured and made a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany (Reed). While he was working as a prisoner in an underground meat factory called Slaughterhouse-Five, the Allies bombed

What a Wonderful World? Dresden; this scene is a key event in Slaughterhouse-Five (Reed). The protagonist of Slaughterhouse-Five lives through the firebombing of Dresden under the same circumstances as Vonnegut; the novel can thus be considered a semi-autobiographical novel that Vonnegut uses to portray his detrimental wartime experiences to his audience. Firebombing was only the beginning of the fast-paced weapon development trend. One year after the firebombing of Dresden, the

United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. This event is commonly accepted as one of the most abominable, belligerent acts of the 20th century. Vonnegut took advantage of the humiliation that many Americans felt on behalf of their country by incorporating this event into Cat's Cradle to denounce the production of arms. Yet another ideal that Vonnegut shows disapproval of is egalitarianism, which he satirizes in Harrison Bergeron (1961). This short story was published a few years after the end of the Second Red Scare (1947-1957), a time period classified by Americans' fear of communism, a style of government that is based on equality amongst all. This connection leads to the idea that Vonnegut may have written Harrison Bergeron in order to remind Americans of the terrors of communism. Besides war and egalitarianism, Vonnegut also admonishes Americans against over-mechanization. Vonnegut held a job at General Electric, where he noticed the process of mechanization plaguing the industry. He states that Player Piano (1952) is a lampoon on GE. I bit the hand that used to feed me. The book predicted what has indeed come to pass, a day when machines, because they are so dependable and efficient and tireless, and getting cheaper all the time, are taking the halfway decent jobs from human beings (Melancon). During this time period, industries were quickly mechanizing, and as a result, job opportunities were dwindling. Vonnegut spotted this growing trend, and published Player Piano, his first novel, in order to increase Americans' awareness of this growing trend. The satirical novel opened the door to Vonnegut's new career as a writer and a revolutionist.

What a Wonderful World? Vonnegut exposes mechanization's shortcomings through Player Piano. He points out that, at first, mechanization may seem like a good idea, but it was too bad for the human beings who

got their dignity from their jobs (Reed). A player piano is an automated version of a regular piano; it looks exactly like a typical piano, but it has the ability to play music without the assistance of a human piano player. At first glance, the title of the novel, Player Piano, may seem to have nothing to do with the plot of the novel. However, "In American literature, symbolic player pianos seem to have developed and represented rich hybridity [...] between man and machine. Vonnegut's Player Piano is no exception. As a humanist, Vonnegut detests the idea of technology obsoleting workers (Sipos), a primary theme of Player Piano. Technological advancements reduce the need for human labor, leaving numerous Americans without jobs, while the affluent and corrupt industry owners, engineers, and managers maintain a lavish lifestyle. In Player Piano, the pseudo-utopian society is set up in this manner. Machines have dominated the city, and although humans undergo intensive education, their abilities are rendered useless. Paul Proteus' heritage and intelligence granted him a perfect future, but despite his privilege, Paul reflects to his wife, In order to get what we've got, Anita, we have, in effect, traded these people out of what was the most important thing on earth to them the feeling of being needed and useful, the foundation of self-respect (175). Paul, unlike the vast majority of people in the dystopian society, is blessed with knowledge. He acknowledges that society is founded on the belief that mechanization benefits everyone, but he understands that those who have lost their jobs as a result of mechanization have been deprived of self-respect. During Vonnegut's employment at General Electric, human labor was constantly being replaced with machine labor in order to reduce cost, and increase efficiency, but at the same time, the human laborers who had lost their jobs had lost much self-respect. Player Piano's society is set up in a way that mechanization is idealized, and even though the vast majority of citizens pay the

What a Wonderful World? toll for mechanization with dignity, Vonnegut depicts the society as a utopia. Mechanization may improve a society's economy, but an individual's true source of happiness lies in personal values such as dignity and pride, which are both compromised by a flourishing economy. Vonnegut conveys that for a society to maintain its citizens' dignity, it must moderate its degree of mechanization. Player Piano uses irony to demonstrate mechanization's tendency to reduce peoples' selfrespect. Vonnegut deems Paul Proteus a hero of society when he promotes trad[ing] these people out of what was the most important thing on earth to them, yet portrays Paul as an outcast when he leads the Ghost Shirt Society, a revolutionary group that attempts to instill hope into those who were robbed of their self-respect. Vonnegut, like Paul, understands the potential for disaster in excessive mechanization; by pitting a whole society against Paul, Vonnegut encourages his audience to sympathize with Paul. In every society, selfless deeds that address the common peoples' needs are revered. Player Piano is an exception. Paul values the desires of the general

public: he trades everything he has for a shot at halting mechanization, a process that would revive the dignity of those who have lost their jobs to machines. Despite his benevolent actions, society detests him, naming him an outcast. In a realistic society, one would expect Paul to be a hero, but ironically, he is depicted as a villain. But because modern civilization ingrains morals into its members, Vonnegut's audience has the ability to perceive Paul as a hero. When Paul's heroic attempts result in futility, Vonnegut's audience may feel a sense of futility as well. Vonnegut's most passionate audience members may even decide to advocate Paul's beliefs in the real world. This is Vonnegut's goal: to culture his own morals in his audience. Player Piano's pseudo-utopian society epitomizes the type of society that Americans do not want America to become. Likewise, Cat's Cradle takes the same approach to address different societal issues.

What a Wonderful World? Despite the apparent dangers of weapons, Cat's Cradle further warns America against weapon development through the implementation of hyperbole. Felix Hoenikker, a fictional character in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, was a co-creator of the atomic bomb, and the creator of icenine, a compound that increases ice's melting point to 114.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If exposed to a body of water, ice-nine will freeze all water that it comes in contact with, transforming the water into yet another ligand of ice-nine. Eventually, water will grow so scarce that Earth will lose its ability to support life. Jonah, the protagonist, reflects: 'What hope can there be for mankind [] when there are such men as Felix Hoenikker to give such playthings as ice-nine to such short-

sighted children as almost all men and women are' (245). Ice-nine is an element of science fiction; Vonnegut introduces this substance as a hyperbole of the atomic bomb. It is evident that the atomic bomb has caused immense damage, and has the ability to cause far more damage than it did in Japan, but if nations do not cease weapon production, a weapon as deadly as ice-nine could be created. Ice-nine is the epitome of an apocalyptic weapon. By exaggerating the danger of weapons, Vonnegut hopes to deter scientists from furthering weapon development. Vonnegut expresses his view on humanity through Jonah. Jonah detests Felix, who symbolizes careless weapon producers, for his immaturity; by expressing his stance on weapons through his protagonist, Vonnegut hopes to communicate his ideals to his audience. A critic of Cat's Cradle analyzes: 'Call me Jonah' the narrator begins, alluding to the opening lines of Moby Dick []. He continues: here, [...] the whale is technology, and it finally swallows everything (Group). In Moby Dick, Ahab, the primary whaling ship's captain, intends on pursing and killing Moby Dick, the whale that took his legs. The novel ends with Moby Dick sinking Ahab's ship, along with a few other ships. Just as Moby Dick is a parable that warns people against pursuing dangers, so is Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. If humans continue to chase the deadly whale (technological advances in weaponry), it will swallow

What a Wonderful World? everything, and thereby destroy the world. Vonnegut predicts that if people do not abandon their pursuit of technology, they will end up destroying Earth, and all of its inhabitants. The theme, chasing a danger that eventually destroys the pursuer, follows the theme of Moby Dick, but Vonnegut magnifies the moral conveyed by this theme in Cat's Cradle by exaggerating the already disastrous outcome. Rather than creating a whale that consumes a few ships, Vonnegut depicts a

whale that ceases all life on Earth. This approach induces fear in the members of his audience, and thus, attracts their attention to the potential dangers of weapons. Through Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut defames egalitarianism. Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron satirizes egalitarianism. The short story begins: THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else (Vonnegut, Bergeron). Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut's hero, is an outcast of society. His worldly IQ, unparalleled strength, and good looks, were stunted by a tremendous pair of earphone, spectacles with thick wavy lenses, three hundred pounds of scrap metal, and an assortment of handicaps to offset his good looks. However, [Harrison] outgr[ew these] hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up (Vonnegut, Bergeron), so they took him away from his family and sent him to prison. Vonnegut satirizes egalitarianism through a hyperbolic representation of this ideal. Rather than equalizing people before God and the law, Vonnegut depicts a society that equalizes people in every which way. Among the various governments today, there are no governments that attempt to equalize people based on their appearance, physical ability, and mental capacity. The society in Harrison Bergeron exaggerates the need for equality in order to demonstrate that "In any leveling process, what really is lost [...] is beauty, grace, and wisdom

What a Wonderful World? (Schatt). The leveling process in Harrison Bergeron is the law that forces people to wear hindrances that equalize them in every which way. While watching the ballerinas on television,

George ponders: They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in (Vonnegut, Bergeron). The ballerinas have clearly lost the beauty and grace that they once possessed; these qualities are greatly valued and exalted in reality. By deeming the riddance of these qualities as a societal gain, Vonnegut implements irony to testify against the leveling process[es] that critics refer to. Likewise to the ballerinas, George loses his wisdom through these leveling processes. Immediately after George's preceding thought, [he toys] with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn't be handicapped, but he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts (Vonnegut, Bergeron). Before George could finish contemplating his revolutionary idea that could have benefited society, the leveling process (the earpiece that hinders thought) detained his thoughts. In this short story, Vonnegut ironically attacks every trait that people admire; among these are beauty, intelligence, and athleticism. By defaming these traits, Vonnegut deters his audience from supporting movements that obsess with equality. He encourages his audience to recognize the importance of these traits for the functionality of society. These traits serve as the goals that every individual pursues and are basic necessities of a community's development. In order for a community to advance, wisdom and intelligence are absolutely essential, but if every individual's mental capacity were equalized, these advancements could not occur. In order to maintain a healthy society, there must be a certain degree of inequality; improvement can only occur in the presence of inequality, for if everyone were equal, all thought processes would be the same, and no one would be able to advance civilization. Harrison Bergeron warns the government against practicing egalitarianism,

What a Wonderful World? and thus, allows society to prosper. Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five also warns society about a great danger.

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In Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut exploits the detrimental effects of war through the use of irony. Vonnegut once stated: I have always rigged my stories to include myself (Reed). Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist in Slaughterhouse-Five, is modeled after Vonnegut. Through Billy, Vonnegut voices his perception of war, conveying the atrocities that war brings to individuals. Billy's life gets ruined by war; [...] Billy has sight before he goes to war, then goes to war and goes insane, thus losing his own 'true-sight' (Miska). Before the participating in the war, Billy was a successful and affluent optometrist, but after the war, he got on an all-night radio program devoted to talk and claimed that he had been kidnapped by a flying saucer and taken to[...] the planet Tralfamadore (25). Critics claim that Vonnegut has undermined the reality of [Billy's] experience on Tralfamadore (Merill and Scholl), supporting the idea that war has driven Billy insane. The catastrophic effects of war do not only lie in the number of casualties and amount of wasted money, but also in the aftershock that veterans of war may face. [Billy's] problems are directly related to his war experiences... [his] fantasies seem more the result of a vivid imagination that he uses as a sense-making tool to deal with his war trauma (Vees-Gulani). Vonnegut considers Slaughterhouse-Five a process of twenty years [...] of living with Dresden and the aftermath (Hale). He demonstrates how the aftermath of Dresden can psychologically ruin an individual, producing symptoms that match those of schizophrenia. The mental stability of individuals is the foundation for the stability of a society. Vonnegut uses irony to exhibit a commonly unseen aspect of war's effect on society. It is ironic that the one employed to correct the myopic view of all his patients may be the most blind of all (Lichenstein). Billy Pilgrim is an optometrist; his job is to correct the vision of others, but war has taken away his sight. Without his sight, Billy abandons his

What a Wonderful World? job. In Illium, the city in which Billy resides, all sixty-eight thousand [...] employee[s] [are]

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required to own a pair of safety glasses (24). By abandoning his job, Billy abandons the needs of the sixty-eight thousand workers, who, without his help, can not work. Clearly, Billy's role in his community is essential to the community's success. Vonnegut includes this bit of irony to show that war can rob its victim of his/her ability to function as a productive member of society, thereby disrupting the order of a society as a whole. Slaughterhouse-Five intends to draw attention to the less obvious adverse effects that war imposes on society. Vonnegut attacks various practices in an attempt to influence action and accumulate awareness; he does so by writing satirical literary works. Cat's Cradle warns the nation against further manufacturing weapons; Barack Obama believes that Nuclear terrorism is the gravest threat to global security (Spillius). Russia and America are both spending mass amounts of money in order to reduce their nuclear arsenal; these two nations are engaged in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and many other countries acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Sherman). If these nations had heeded the warning presented in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, countless dollars could have been saved in the production, reduction, and maintenance of these weapons. This is not to say that Vonnegut's books had no influence on humanity. Vonnegut has revealed his insightful opinions while fighting for what he believes will best benefit society, inspiring others to do the same. He gives people the courage to stand alone as independent thinkers like he has. He is a leader of societal correction. But above all, [Vonnegut] believed in the potential of people to rise above their circumstances, as he had done throughout his life(Friedman). He inspired hope. His life had been plagued with depressing events: his father became shut-in and depressed due to the Great Depression; he became hospitalized with pneumonia and subsequently lost his draft deferment; he witnessed his mother's suicide on Mother's Day; he was captured and made a

What a Wonderful World? prisoner of war during the Battle of Bulge; and he survived as an eye witness of the Dresden firebombing, which resulted in 135,000 fatalities. Despite the atrocities that he faced, Vonnegut

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wrote inspirational works that encourage people to fight for what they believe will push society to grow, advance, and ultimately thrive.

Works Cited Friedman, Elaine. "Kurt Vonnegut, Humanist, 1922-2007." American Humanist Society. N.p., n.d. Web.

What a Wonderful World? 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.americanhumanist.org/hnn/archives/?id=293&article=2>. Grossman, Edward. "Vonnegut & His Audience ." Literature Resources from Gale. N.p., 2007. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/ retrieve.do?

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sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=alam co_main&tabID =T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=Basic SearchForm&currentPositi on=31&contentSet=GALE|H1100000832&&docId=GALE| H1100000832&docType=GALE&role=LitRC>. Last few paragraphs describes themes of war and pessimism. Relates to my topic. Group, Robert. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Literature Resources from Gale. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/ retrieve.do? sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=alam co_main&tabID

What a Wonderful World?

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What a Wonderful World? Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/slaughter/themes.html>. Source of another source...

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Magome, Kiyoko. "The player piano and musico-cybernetic science fiction between the 1950s and the 1980s: Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick." Literature Resources from Gale. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/ retrieve.do? sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=alam co_main&tabID =T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=Basic SearchForm&currentPositi on=4&contentSet=GALE|A1314>. Piano Player resource. Melancon, Benjamin Maurice. "Short Career." Melancon Enterprises. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2011. <http://melanconent.com/lib/rev/bagombosnuffbox/index.html#shortcareer>. Bio Merrill, Robert, and Peter A. Scholl. "Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse-Five': The Requirements of Chaos ." Literature Resources from Gale. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/

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sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=alam co_main&tabID =T001&searchId=R4&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=Basic SearchForm&currentPositi on=8&contentSet=GALE|H1100000835&&docId=GALE| H1100000835&docType=GALE&role=LitRC>. S5 Miska, Michael S. Kurt Vonnegut Corner. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.kurtvonnegutcorner.eu/essay-collection/ c2006013109-war-in--i-slaughterhouse-five--i-.html>. Reed, Peter J. "''Player Piano'' Overview." Vonnegut Web. N.p., 5 Feb. 2005. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://www.vonnegutweb.com/playerpiano/pp_peterjreed.html>. General theme of Piano Player Sherman, Robert. "Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) ." Weapons of Mass Destruction. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/start1/index.html>. Sipos, Thomas M. "Kurt Vonnegut's Neocon America: War and Socialism in Player Piano."

What a Wonderful World? LewRockwell.com. N.p., 2 May 2005. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/ orig4/sipos2.html>. Spillius, Alex. "Nuclear terrorism is gravest threat to global security, Barack Obama warns ." The Telegraph 12 Apr. 2010: n. pag. The Telegraph. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7580210/ Nuclear-terrorism-is-gravest-threat-to-global-security-Barack-Obama-warns.html>. Vees-Gulani, Susanne. "Diagnosing Billy Pilgrim: a psychiatric approach to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five ." Literature Resources from Gale. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/ retrieve.do?

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