Kurt Vonnegut: The Representative Post-World War II American Writer

This essay attempts to situate Vonnegut's novels within the post-WWII milieu arguing that in them Vonnegut has reflected his generation's experiences with the war, the advent and use of the atom bomb, the aftermath of the Great Depression and the rise of the consumer society, the Vietnam War, and the weakening of social bonds and institutions after the 1960s. Yet Vonnegut also reflects American optimism: although often disillusioned with his country and fellow countrymen, he refuses to give up on America and tenaciously clings to his dream of a better society, with a genuine culture and a real community. In doing so, he offers alternatives for American society in the twenty-first century.