On November 11th, 1922, Edith Vonnegut gave birth to Kurt Vonnegut Junior in Indianapolis, Indiana (“Vonnegut, Kurt, An Introduction” 1). This location would remain integrated into Kurt’s life despite his incredible life journeys; he often referred to this city as a symbol of American values in many of his novels. Before the Great Depression, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. had grown up wealthy. Kurt’s mother was the daughter of a wealthy brewer and his father became a famed architect; however, during the Great Depression, their fortune took a turn for the worst. Kurt’s father’s firm filed for bankruptcy and their luck concluded forcing the Vonneguts to sell their home. Soon after, Kurt’s father fell into depression while his mother developed an awful addiction to alcohol and other narcotics (Allen, William). This sudden and dramatic change in lifestyle spawned a dark, pessimistic outlook in Kurt’s perspective. This viewpoint implemented a lifelong, gloomy style into his writing. As a teenager, Vonnegut strived towards a writing career. He became the managing editor of The Sun, his high school paper. Here he discovered several rules for journalism that aided his writing process. This procedure includes, “Get the facts right, compose straightforward declarative sentences, [and] know the audience” (Allen, William). Four years later, at the age of 20, Vonnegut would be drafted to fight in WWII. This global event would serve as Vonnegut’s most influential tragedy in his lifetime. It did not take long for Vonnegut to become a prisoner of war.
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After being deployed in Europe, the Germans captured him during the Battle of the Bulge. On February 13th, 1945, America and England bombed Dresden, a non-militarized city where Vonnegut was imprisoned. Luckily, the Germans kept him 60 feet underground in a former slaughterhouse. Killing up to 135,000 causalities, the bombing reigned destruction onto the city (“Vonnegut, Kurt, An Introduction” 1). The Nazis forced Vonnegut to locate the dead bodies and set them aflame. Despite the emotional damage yielding from this event, Vonnegut was able to channel his painful memories into one of his most popular pieces, Slaughterhouse-5”. This period of war and violence began to dampen even more when Vonnegut’s personal darkened. One year before the war ended, Kurt’s mother died of a drug overdose (Allen, William). Death, destruction and drama detailed every little aspect of his life. A combination of war and the death of his mother created a tsunami of misery. This horrific period of darkness concluded with a spark of hope as Vonnegut married a girl he met in kindergarten, Jane Cox. After multiple kids, he realized his job at General Eclectic did not suffice so in 1951, he exclusively began to write (“Vonnegut, Kurt, An Introduction” 1). One year later, he published his first novel, Piano Player. This period of happiness crashed dramatically as his sister died of cancer in 1957. Vonnegut’s life darkened into a greater nightmare when a few days later, his sister’s husband died in a train crash. As the godparents of their children, Kurt felt obliged to take care of their children. This pushed Vonnegut to write even more stories due to their financial plight. It did not take long for Kurt to publish several novels, including, The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, Cat’s Cradle, and, of course, Slaughterhouse-5 (Allen, William). By the
After being deployed in Europe, the Germans captured him during the Battle of the Bulge. On February 13th, 1945, America and England bombed Dresden, a non-militarized city where Vonnegut was imprisoned. Luckily, the Germans kept him 60 feet underground in a former slaughterhouse. Killing up to 135,000 causalities, the bombing reigned destruction onto the city (“Vonnegut, Kurt, An Introduction” 1). The Nazis forced Vonnegut to locate the dead bodies and set them aflame. Despite the emotional damage yielding from this event, Vonnegut was able to channel his painful memories into one of his most popular pieces, Slaughterhouse-5”. This period of war and violence began to dampen even more when Vonnegut’s personal darkened. One year before the war ended, Kurt’s mother died of a drug overdose (Allen, William). Death, destruction and drama detailed every little aspect of his life. A combination of war and the death of his mother created a tsunami of misery. This horrific period of darkness concluded with a spark of hope as Vonnegut married a girl he met in kindergarten, Jane Cox. After multiple kids, he realized his job at General Eclectic did not suffice so in 1951, he exclusively began to write (“Vonnegut, Kurt, An Introduction” 1). One year later, he published his first novel, Piano Player. This period of happiness crashed dramatically as his sister died of cancer in 1957. Vonnegut’s life darkened into a greater nightmare when a few days later, his sister’s husband died in a train crash. As the godparents of their children, Kurt felt obliged to take care of their children. This pushed Vonnegut to write even more stories due to their financial plight. It did not take long for Kurt to publish several novels, including, The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, Cat’s Cradle, and, of course, Slaughterhouse-5 (Allen, William). By the