Biographical_Paper_on_Kurt_Vonnegut

Biographical paper on Kurt Vonnegut One of America’s greatest literary figures of the modern age was born in Indianapolis on November 11, 1922, his name was Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut was a master of social satire mixed with dark humor and he used the genre of science fiction to tell his stories. The use of Sci-Fi was looked down upon by the powers that be in the literary world when Vonnegut first started writing, but in 1969 he established it as a true genre of literature with his master work Slaughterhouse-Five.(1) Many people today consider Vonnegut the modern day Mark Twain. Kurt Vonnegut went to a public high school and got his first taste of writing at his school’s newspaper, this carried on in to his college career when he attended Cornell University and wrote for their paper too. His father pushed him into the study of chemistry and biology which he did not excel in because his true passion was for writing.(2) Vonnegut found his way out on December 7th, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he enlisted in the United States Army.(4) Vonnegut’s time in the Army was instrumental in his development as the literary power house he would become. In 1943 the Army sent Vonnegut to Carnegie Mellon to study Mechanical engineering but by 1944 he had been shipped to the American front in Europe. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge where he was captured by the Nazis, and sent to Dresden to a prisoner of war camp.(2) While he was in Dresden the Allies carpet-bombed the city and Vonnegut and other POWs were among the few that survived because they were in an underground meat locker in a slaughterhouse at the time. His experience in Dresden would later become the basis for his book Slaughterhouse-Five.(4) He was freed by the Russians and returned to America. When Vonnegut returned from the war he married his high school sweet heart Jane Marie Cox. They had three children of their own and also adopted Kurt’s sister’s three kids after her death in 1958 of cancer.(4) During this time Vonnegut released his first novel Player Piano followed by several others to limited success. To support his family during this time in his life he worked many jobs from teacher to reporter. It was not till 1969 with the success of Slaughterhouse-Five that Vonnegut became a full time author. (2) After a long separation Kurt divorced his high school sweetheart and in 1979 remarried Jill Krementz.(2) Kurt and Jill later adopted a fourth child in the 80’s. Kurt’s mother had committed suicide when he was young not to be out done Vonnegut tried to kill himself in 1984 but luckily for his fans he failed. Kurt went on to live till 2007 when he died of brain injuries from a fall.(2) Kurt Vonnegut published 14 novels, 4 collections of short stories, 5 essay collections, and 5 scripts. All of Vonnegut’s works are a testament to the American literary establishment and have pushed the genre of science fiction to a level of acceptance it has never before been privileged to. Vonnegut once said “I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.”,(3) and that is how he truly viewed his own work. Kurt Vonnegut will live on as a giant in literary social satire and sci-fi for generations to come. Bibliography (1)Biography of Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007). Gradesaver. 1999-2010. 24 9 2010 . (2)Liukkonen, Petri. Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007). 2008. 24 9 2010 . (3) Quotations by author Kurt Vonnegut. 1994-2010. 24th september 2010 . (4)Vonnegut", "Kurt. Biography.com. 28 sep 2010. 24 9 2010 .