Kurt Vonnegut: The Forward March Research Paper

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This is a fascinating commentary about how modernization and mechanization can impact individuals to taking on the attributes of the technology that they work with. This is definitely thought-provoking in this day and age, making one wonder how one is impacted by the speed and immediacy of the Internet and other forms of technology on this generation.

However, this is one of Vonnegut's more hopeful stories. "Though Vonnegut has a reputation as a black humorist, this is an unusual love story between the most timid of men and a lonely receptionist" (Smith, 274). While one can interpret this story in a cynical fashion, one can also appreciate it for the positive attributes it has to offer. "Yet, as in other Vonnegut works, art can be redeeming and transformative. Harry, when he is playing a character in a play, becomes larger than life. Helene, speaking with the narrator and Doris Sawyer at her audition, lights up when she begins to talk about the movie stars she admires" (Farrell, 418). This represents a positive outlook on the power of the arts that is somewhat anachronistic.

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The redemptive power of the arts is something which is eternal and not a specific byproduct of the time. Vonnegut appears to be expressing anxiety once more about the impact of technology and the forward march of time, but also appears to self-soothe, demonstrating that the arts will continually be able to bring human beings back to their own humanity.

Thus, the three short stories examined in this paper, no doubt represent a scathing criticism of the direction of society in the forward progression of time, but also the extreme concern that Vonnegut has about the human condition. Much of these concerns were a byproduct of the era that Vonnegut was a part of: Vonnegut had borne witness to the tragedies and nightmares of World War Two and had seen the terror of the Hydrogen bomb. As Vonnegut explores the development and impact that the changing times can have on the human race, he still believes in the salvation and promise that art can provide.

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