

Vonnegut as a Bug in Amber:
Connection of Fiction and Autobiography
in the Works of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
by Marek Vit (2002)
ABSTRACT
The works of the American writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is
noted for recurring characters, ideas and themes. One of
these is surely the fact that his characters do not have any
free will. Vonnegut calls this feature "bugs in amber",
because people in his books do not have any more freedom
than insects trapped in amber. This point of view from which
his characters and humanity in general is seen, corresponds
closely with Vonnegut's life. This novelist is a World War
II veteran, one of the few survivors of the bombing of
Dresden, where Vonnegut was as a prisoner-of-war. It is this
war experience above all that makes Vonnegut feel like
a "bug trapped in amber". His works, however, does not show
helplessness or resignation, but looking for the way out. As
his characters slowly find their way out, Vonnegut finds
his, and in his case the way leads through literature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I: Humanity
Characteristics of Humanity
Playthings, puppets
Human life and its value
Bugs in Amber
CHAPTER II: Divinity
Characteristics of Divinity
Other Divinity characters
The Divine Father
Religion
CHAPTER III: Hero vs Villain
Hero vs. Villain
Unsuccessful Ways Out
Successful Ways Out
Humanity vs. Divinity
On meaning and purpose of life
CHAPTER IV: Vonnegut as the Hero
Fiction and Autobiography merged
Vonnegutīs amber
Vonnegutīs ways out
CONCLUSION
List of Abbreviations Used
Bibliography
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Last modified: April 6, 2002