The Role of Technology in Kurt Vonnegut's Writing
<b>Outline</b>
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<br>Thesis: Technology is the villain in Kurt Vonnegut's works because of his hatred of corporate insensitivity and his awareness of the destructive social impact of science and technology.
<br>
<br>I. Kurt Vonnegut has a great awareness of the destructive social impact of science and technology.
<br>A. Contraptions that Vonnegut calls "social transplants" replace contact with the awful real relatives and friends with synthetic ones.
<br>1. Computers minimize human contact even better than TV's and CD players with headphones can.
<br>2. Vonnegut voices his hate of the computer because it is a nervous system outside of our own.
<br>3. The start of this was in the 4th century before Christ; audiences accepted people who memorized things to say on stage as genuine relatives.
<br>4. Films and plays show us people talking much more entertainingly than really people talk and shows humans making sounds much lovelier than real humans make.
<br>5. All of these have contributed to our lack of contact with our families and other humans
<br>B. We no longer have developed imaginations because of technological developments.
<br>1. Parents and teachers must be present to help develop our imaginations.
<br>2. Imagination was very important once because it served as our major source of entertainment.
<br>a. People used to be able to read a book and envision the story in their mind and that was entertainment.
<br>b. Now there are shows, actors, movies and television to show us the story.
<br>C. He believes the American dream has materialized into a junkyard by way of the glories of technology.
<br>1. Technology and salesmanship have stripped and raped the land and divested the people of a sense of pride.
<br>2. People are no longer the hard workers they used to be because machines do their job for them.
<br>3. Many Americans are jobless because of the computerization in corporations, and Vonnegut blames American scientists and technologists for this.
<br>
<br>Thesis: Technology is the villain in Kurt Vonnegut's works because of his hatred of corporate insensitivity and his awareness of the destructive social impact of science and technology.
<br>
<br>I. Kurt Vonnegut has a great awareness of the destructive social impact of science and technology.
<br>A. Contraptions that Vonnegut calls "social transplants" replace contact with the awful real relatives and friends with synthetic ones.
<br>1. Computers minimize human contact even better than TV's and CD players with headphones can.
<br>2. Vonnegut voices his hate of the computer because it is a nervous system outside of our own.
<br>3. The start of this was in the 4th century before Christ; audiences accepted people who memorized things to say on stage as genuine relatives.
<br>4. Films and plays show us people talking much more entertainingly than really people talk and shows humans making sounds much lovelier than real humans make.
<br>5. All of these have contributed to our lack of contact with our families and other humans
<br>B. We no longer have developed imaginations because of technological developments.
<br>1. Parents and teachers must be present to help develop our imaginations.
<br>2. Imagination was very important once because it served as our major source of entertainment.
<br>a. People used to be able to read a book and envision the story in their mind and that was entertainment.
<br>b. Now there are shows, actors, movies and television to show us the story.
<br>C. He believes the American dream has materialized into a junkyard by way of the glories of technology.
<br>1. Technology and salesmanship have stripped and raped the land and divested the people of a sense of pride.
<br>2. People are no longer the hard workers they used to be because machines do their job for them.
<br>3. Many Americans are jobless because of the computerization in corporations, and Vonnegut blames American scientists and technologists for this.
Cited: <br><li>Gionne, Richard. Vonnegut: A Preface to His Novels. NY: Kennikat Press, 1977. <br><li>Goldsmith, David H. Kurt Vonnegut Fantasist of Fire and Ice. Ohio: Bowling Green University Poplar Press, 1972. <br><li>Klinkowitz, Jerome. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and the Crime of His Times." Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism Ed. Carolyn Riley. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1973. 348. <br><li>Lundquist, James <br><li>Pickering, Carol. "Shelflife." Forbes 6 April, 1998: 24 <br><li>Reed, Peter J <br><li>Schatt, Stanley. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1976. <br><li>Schatt, Stanley <br><li>Schulz, Max F. " The Unconfirmed Thesis: Kurt Vonnegut, Black Humor, and Contemporary Art." Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1973. 347-348. <br><li>Vonnegut, Kurt