"Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand."
This quote relates to Vonnegut's writing because Vonnegut was a big believer and fan of science fiction. It is very obvious of this liking in Slaughterhouse Five with his Tralfamadorians and their alien world. Topics such as aliens and super powers definitely fall under the sci-fi section in the book shelves of Vonnegut's mind. Whether that shelf is located in the Fact or Fiction, we are unsure. But this quote definitely shows how Vonnegut enjoys living with a make-believe complex. He may feel comfortable having a world that he can make perfect in his mind when everything around him in reality is far from it.
I think 'Sci-Fi' was a label that Vonnegut would not have necessarily and willfully assigned to his writing. He is certainly imaginative, but his work lacks the kind of forecasting that you typically find in a lot of sci-fi works.
ReplyDeleteThe last sentence of this post was particularly thought-provoking. I think a lot of us end up doing this as a means of insulating ourselves from reality. Good post.
Thank you, sir. I also agree with the fact that people do create or try to find ways to insulate ourselves from reality. I personally do it mainly with books; I'm a sucker for a good teen romance where the best friends end up together at the end of the book. I think that people (including myself) do this because they aren't satisfied with what they have, no matter how good they might have it. If everyone got exactly what they wanted, when they wanted, our world could be a lot different right now. And because we don't actually know how something like that could affect us, then no one can say whether or not they would want to change it. So for now, I think we all just need to make the best out of what we've been given, and try out hardest to improve it as best and beneficially as we can.
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