Kurt Vonnegut - Science Fiction Author or Not?

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Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most popular writers of the 20th century and most read by young adults. While the majority of his audience are young adults, his novels have still come under attack from many professional critics for his dark humor and provocative content (Marvin, 1). Many wonder what the underlying influences of his style are. Because his family was raised in the arts, and developed tastes for music, painting and literature you can see some of the influence. Though, there were many other influences that make him an admired writer. Vonnegut claimed that his mother was the most important influence on him to become a writer (Tomedi, 6). In my opinion, Kurt Vonnegut’s writing style was impacted by his involvement during World War II. The novels and short stories of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. have been characterized as satirical and science fiction. Although, he rejected the title of being a science fiction novelist some say his work suggest otherwise. Kurt Vonnegut’s work includes: conflicts of man versus society, his war experiences, and many elements of science fiction. Kurt Vonnegut used man versus society as a base for many of his novels and short stories. “Harrison Bergeron,” one of Vonnegut’s short stories is a good example of this conflict. He illustrates a futuristic Untied States, where people have given their individual rights for the betterment of the whole society (Alvarez, 1). He depicts people losing their freedom in the short story, which resulted in a society that lacked distinctiveness. In the short story he writes about a so-called utopia where everyone’s individuality is suppressed by handicapping the more intelligent, athletic, or beautiful people. The handicapping is done by the Untied States Handicapper General. The Handicapper General made the more intelligent citizens wore little mental handicap radios in their ear that made

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