Tag Archives: Kurt Vonnegut

On Homer and Rethinking My Father

By Robin Bates | Published: March 8, 2023

The famous scene of Hector and Andromache has given me a new perspective on my father’s fatalism.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged determinism, fatalism, Homer, Iliad, Scott Bates | Comments closed

Massacre Machinery & Slaughterhouse 5

By Robin Bates | Published: May 25, 2022

Kurt Vonnegut, one who has seen the horrors of war, was a passionate opponent of guns in civilian hands.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged gun violence, mass shootings, Slaughterhouse Five | Comments closed

How Vonnegut Faced His Demons

By Robin Bates | Published: April 3, 2019

Thursday To honor the 50th anniversary of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, I am reposting an essay about how Vonnegut used science fiction to come to terms with the Battle of the Bulge and the Dresden bombing, both of which he experienced first-hand. I owe the ideas to student Chris Hammond, who devoted his senior project […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Battle of the Bulge, Cat's Cradle, Firebombing of Dresden, PTSD, Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse Five, World War II | Comments closed

Panicked by Trump? Turn to Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: February 28, 2016

As Trump panic starts to set in, pundits are turning to literature to get an understanding of how it has all happened. This past week saw references to “Oedipus,” “Frankenstein,” “War and Peace,” and “Slaughterhouse Five.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, Frankenstein, GOP, Leo Tolstoy, Marco Rubio, Mary Shelley, Oedipus, Presidential politics, Slaughterhouse Five, Sophocles, War and Peace | Comments closed

Liberals Must Reclaim Harrison Bergeron

By Robin Bates | Published: May 21, 2015

Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” has been adopted by the rightwing in their opposition to governmental regulations. It’s actually a fairly liberal story.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Abraham Mazlow, Harrison Bergeron | Comments closed

Vonnegut’s Sci Fi Says the Unsayable

By Robin Bates | Published: May 6, 2014

Yesterday I spent all day—from 9 am to 6 pm with occasional breaks—listening to our English majors present their senior projects. That I was energized rather than drained by the experience testifies to the strength of the talks. In today’s post I report on my student Chris Hammond’s essay on Kurt Vonnegut’s use of science […]