Note
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Member of
Contributors
Publisher
Florida Atlantic University
Date Issued
1983
Description
Many of Kurt Vonnegut's central characters are benevolent
advocates of positive human change. Because of the
absurdities of their world, these efforts are futile and
doomed to failure. Rumfoord attempts "to do good for
my native earth" in The Sirens of Titan, on a cosmic
scale. Lionel Boyd Johnson, Bokonon, in eat's Cradle,
creates a religion based on lies to lessen the awful
truth. Eliot Rosewater in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
attempts to love the "discarded" Americans of Rosewater,
Indiana, on a one-to-one basis. The conflicts inherent
in. Vonnegut's world cloud the motivation of these efforts
but they are still sincere efforts within their
pluralistic framework. The results are a mixture of
positive and negative; the most positive exist on a
small human scale; the most negative on a collective or
institutional scale.
advocates of positive human change. Because of the
absurdities of their world, these efforts are futile and
doomed to failure. Rumfoord attempts "to do good for
my native earth" in The Sirens of Titan, on a cosmic
scale. Lionel Boyd Johnson, Bokonon, in eat's Cradle,
creates a religion based on lies to lessen the awful
truth. Eliot Rosewater in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
attempts to love the "discarded" Americans of Rosewater,
Indiana, on a one-to-one basis. The conflicts inherent
in. Vonnegut's world cloud the motivation of these efforts
but they are still sincere efforts within their
pluralistic framework. The results are a mixture of
positive and negative; the most positive exist on a
small human scale; the most negative on a collective or
institutional scale.
Language
Type
Form
Extent
107 p.
Subject (Topical)
Identifier
14143
Additional Information
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1983.
FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Date Backup
1983
Date Text
1983
Date Issued (EDTF)
1983
Extension
FAU
FAU
admin_unit="FAU01", ingest_id="ing1508", creator="staff:fcllz", creation_date="2007-07-19 02:10:16", modified_by="staff:fcllz", modification_date="2011-01-06 13:09:06"
IID
FADT14143
Issuance
monographic
Organizations
Attributed name: Florida Atlantic University
Person Preferred Name
SWARTZEL, STEVEN BRUCE.
Graduate College
Physical Description
107 p.
application/pdf
Title Plain
FUTILE BENEVOLENCE IN THREE VONNEGUT NOVELS: "THE SIRENS OF TITAN," "CAT'S CRADLE," AND "GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER."
Use and Reproduction
Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Origin Information
1983
monographic
Boca Raton, Fla.
Florida Atlantic University
Physical Location
Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Place
Boca Raton, Fla.
Sub Location
Digital Library
Title
FUTILE BENEVOLENCE IN THREE VONNEGUT NOVELS: "THE SIRENS OF TITAN," "CAT'S CRADLE," AND "GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER."
Other Title Info
FUTILE BENEVOLENCE IN THREE VONNEGUT NOVELS: "THE SIRENS OF TITAN," "CAT'S CRADLE," AND "GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER."