Kurt Vonnegut Writing Style Analysis

Every author has their own unique writing style. Kurt Vonnegut’s just so happens to be very effective. The unique pairing of black humor, social satire, and science fiction make the stories of Kurt Vonnegut both intriguing and effective. His way of satirizing contemporary society using themes such as war, sex, and death makes his stories bluntly honest. To verify the assumption made, three novels were read. The novels include: Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. Vonnegut’s style is exhibited by multiple literary devices used throughout all the novels, and also some personal experiences. The way he writes his novels makes his stories stand out from any other author, because he does put in his own experiences and his …show more content…
It was also the most intriguing because it was Vonnegut’s way of expressing his lasting trauma of being a prisoner of war. The novel is written as a frame story because it uses Vonnegut’s personal experiences, as well as the made up story line in between. Slaughterhouse-Five has many literary devices involved in making it the novel that it is, which includes irony, motifs, and imagery. All of the elements show up throughout the novel. Imagery shows up when Billy talks about the colors blue and ivory. "Someone had taken his [Hobo 's] boots. His bare feet were blue and ivory. It was all right, somehow, his being dead. So it goes" (Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 148). The previous quote shows two major devices that are used throughout the novel. “So it goes” is a motif that is used after almost every paragraph. Science fiction plays a large role in the novel. Slaughterhouse-Five uses science fiction the same way it uses war, both as a plot point and as an object of philosophical examination. Billy travels to another planet named, Tralfamadore, and is put into a zoo. “Billy traveled in time to the zoo on Tralfamadore again. A mate had just been brought to him from Earth” (Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 132). The way Vonnegut uses science fiction and the time traveling and aliens, shows his creative side and almost a sad side as well. Billy and Eliot have to travel to a new planet because their realities no longer make sense to them. Irony is also …show more content…
In all three novels that were read, black humor, social satire, and science fiction were all included. Kurt Vonnegut has a very distinct style that he has made for himself throughout the novels he wrote during his lifetime. Although critics have argued that he does not actually use black humor, there are many examples in all of his novels that prove that wrong. Vonnegut himself talked out about the way he uses black humor. The text is important to the readers because it teaches lessons by using primary lifetime situations from Kurt Vonnegut’s life. The text also gives different views on normal contemporary issues that are happening all around. Kurt Vonnegut used his creativity and imagination in multiple ways, whether it be through illustrations, literary devices, or sarcasm. Vonnegut’s novels will live in honor because of the way his style affects the modern day