“2BR02B” is a short story by Kurt Vonnegut that describes a society where a strict policy of population control has abolished human afflictions like war and disease, extending life expectancy and eliminating virtually all involuntary death. The law, however, dictates that to maintain the population, every newborn infant must die unless someone voluntarily undergoes euthanasia and dies in its place. Thus, suicide is ethical and state-sanctioned; people who no longer wish to live can call the number “2 B R 0 2 B” to arrange an appointment with the Federal Bureau of Termination at the often-euphemized municipal gas chambers. The story centers on Edward Wehling, an expectant father who faces the dilemma of choosing one of his newborn triplets to
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In the beginning, Vonnegut introduces the man: “A sardonic old man, about two hundred years old, sat on a stepladder, painting a mural he did not like. … It’s called ‘The Happy Garden of Life’” (Vonnegut). The mural not only depicts the society and its two major institutions, but also alludes to the biblical Garden of Eden, the archetypal utopia present in much of utopian literature. Extending this symbolism to the old man equates him with God since he is the painter of the mural and is therefore the “creator” of the society. His old age and physical position above everyone else on the stepladder further reinforces this idea. Then, Vonnegut portrays God’s reaction to the society through the old man’s reflection on Wehling’s final acts: “He knew that he would never paint again. He let his paintbrush fall to the drop-cloths below. And then he decided he had had about enough of life in the Happy Garden of Life, too, and he came slowly down from the ladder. He took Wehling’s pistol, really intending to shoot himself” (Vonnegut). Here, the old man’s decision to commit suicide represents God giving up on the society. This image raises a powerful criticism—how can this society be truly perfect if it causes God Himself to lose all hope in it and abandon His work of creation? By employing such biblical symbolism, Vonnegut appeals to the automatic ethos of divine authority to question the society’s utopian façade and thus reveal the dystopian reality hidden beneath
In the beginning, Vonnegut introduces the man: “A sardonic old man, about two hundred years old, sat on a stepladder, painting a mural he did not like. … It’s called ‘The Happy Garden of Life’” (Vonnegut). The mural not only depicts the society and its two major institutions, but also alludes to the biblical Garden of Eden, the archetypal utopia present in much of utopian literature. Extending this symbolism to the old man equates him with God since he is the painter of the mural and is therefore the “creator” of the society. His old age and physical position above everyone else on the stepladder further reinforces this idea. Then, Vonnegut portrays God’s reaction to the society through the old man’s reflection on Wehling’s final acts: “He knew that he would never paint again. He let his paintbrush fall to the drop-cloths below. And then he decided he had had about enough of life in the Happy Garden of Life, too, and he came slowly down from the ladder. He took Wehling’s pistol, really intending to shoot himself” (Vonnegut). Here, the old man’s decision to commit suicide represents God giving up on the society. This image raises a powerful criticism—how can this society be truly perfect if it causes God Himself to lose all hope in it and abandon His work of creation? By employing such biblical symbolism, Vonnegut appeals to the automatic ethos of divine authority to question the society’s utopian façade and thus reveal the dystopian reality hidden beneath