Political Chaos: The Sense of Martial Danger in Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle"

Autor/inn/en	Jubouri Al-Ogaili, Thamer Amer; Babaee, Ruzbeh
Titel	Political Chaos: The Sense of Martial Danger in Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle"
Quelle	In: Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 10 (2016) 1, S.91-99 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1307-4733
Schlagwörter	Political Attitudes; Political Issues; Novels; Literary Styles; Literature Appreciation; Didacticism; Weapons; Humanization; Political Power; Literary Criticism; Social Change; Social Problems + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Politischer Faktor; Novel; Roman; Literarischer Stil; Literarische Wertung; Didaktisierung; Weapon; Waffe; Humanisierung; Politische Macht; Literaturkritik; Sozialer Wandel; Social problem; Soziales Problem
Abstract	This study focuses on the political chaos in Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" (1963). While the main scholarly studies focus on the postcolonial peculiarities of the novel, this study will focus on the post-nuclear characteristics and will render the novel's position distinctive within the discourse on political and social affairs. The study's significance is its emphasis on the role of human beings, which brings dangers and devastation to the human race. Though the study will allude to some apocalyptic visions regarding the existence of the human race, the study tries to offer profound understanding of how human weaponry used in the nuclear age might threaten the human health and future existence. During the sixties and seventies, the arms race was severely critiqued by contemporary literary works. Among these works is Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" which depicts the chaotic politics of the time. Hence, this study will solely accentuate the portrayal of political chaos and how it threatens human social stability and peaceful lives. Political threat causes harmful effects to humanity's health, mentality, and psyche which is exemplified in the novel's characters. The fictional characters embody the real human sufferings. Thus, there will be no discussion on specific political powers which compete with each other to gain martial success over the other. Instead, the study will focus on how the fictional characters suffer from the consequences of war and how they behave after them. The analysis of such feelings will be discussed by applying two concepts, namely, Slavoj Žižek's concept of power reductionism and Jean-François Lyotard's concept of critique of the existing order. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Children's Research Center-Turkey. Via Tower Is Merkezi, Bestepeler Mahallesi, Nergiz Sokak No 7-35 Sögütözü, Ankara 06530, Turkey. Tel: +90-312-2190219; Fax: +90-312-2190321; e-mail: submissions@novitasroyal.org; Web site: http://www.novitasroyal.org/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01