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A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions
The works of Kurt Vonnegut stand as seminal in the American literary canon. Looking at three of his most influential novels, namely Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions, this study aims to better understand the mechanisms which inform his fiction. Working chronologically thro...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of English Language and Literature
2014
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| _version_ | 1867614023645659136 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Langdon, Gareth |
| author2 | Strand, E |
| author_browse | Langdon, Gareth Strand, E |
| author_facet | Strand, E Langdon, Gareth |
| author_sort | Langdon, Gareth |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The works of Kurt Vonnegut stand as seminal in the American literary canon. Looking at three of his most influential novels, namely Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions, this study aims to better understand the mechanisms which inform his fiction. Working chronologically through the novels, the study examines historical context, narrative technique, theoretical underpinnings and the social critique of each novel. Guided by an idea of the postmodern novel the study examines how these elements interact, concluding that by way of what may be considered "simple" yet self-conscious metafiction and prose as well as variations in narrative technique, Vonnegut is able to more accurately convey his opinions on the American situation as well as demonstrate his stance on the role of fiction and the writer in contemporary society. The study also considers closely the role of the reader and the author/reader/text relationship. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/6802 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:27.311Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publishDateRange | 2014 |
| publishDateSort | 2014 |
| publisher | Department of English Language and Literature |
| publisherStr | Department of English Language and Literature |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/6802 A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions Langdon, Gareth Strand, E The works of Kurt Vonnegut stand as seminal in the American literary canon. Looking at three of his most influential novels, namely Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions, this study aims to better understand the mechanisms which inform his fiction. Working chronologically through the novels, the study examines historical context, narrative technique, theoretical underpinnings and the social critique of each novel. Guided by an idea of the postmodern novel the study examines how these elements interact, concluding that by way of what may be considered "simple" yet self-conscious metafiction and prose as well as variations in narrative technique, Vonnegut is able to more accurately convey his opinions on the American situation as well as demonstrate his stance on the role of fiction and the writer in contemporary society. The study also considers closely the role of the reader and the author/reader/text relationship. 2014-09-02T09:49:01Z 2014-09-02T09:49:01Z 2014 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6802 eng application/pdf Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Langdon, Gareth A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions |
| title_full | A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions |
| title_fullStr | A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions |
| title_full_unstemmed | A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions |
| title_short | A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions |
| title_sort | self conscious kurt vonnegut an analysis of cat s cradle slaughterhouse five and breakfast of champions |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6802 |
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