"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." - Kurt Vonnegut
This quote immediately jumped out at me. I truly believe that life is what you make of it, and reaching the boundaries is exactly how I want live mine. I don't ever want to hold back and play it safe by staying "in the centre" because I'll be missing out on many life-changing opportunities. My drive to achieve beyond what is expected motivates me from day to day. My strong will won't allow me to settle for mediocrity. I seek perfection and crave for thrill and adventure. Only after attaining my goal, or "arriving at the edge", will I be satisfied. Then, I would kick back and enjoy the view until another challenge comes around. At the end of the day, when I'm old and wrinkled, I want to be able to say that I've experienced many things in my life that ordinary people haven't. I want to die without any regrets. Until then, I will not rest.
With respect to Vonnegut and his writing, he, too, does not hold back. He goes "right out to the edge" and says the things he needs to say in order to convey his message. SH5 vividly describes the horrific conditions of war: everything from the repulsive boxcar environment, to the mangled corpses after the Dresden bombing. In the midst of those chaotic events, Vonnegut also describes the atrocities that American soldiers commit against each other. He dared to include a passage by Howard W. Campbell Jr., that condemned Americans as well. It began with, "America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves... Expect no brotherly love, even between brothers. There will be no cohesion between the individuals. Each will be a sulky child who often wishes he were dead" (128-130). Vonnegut made a risky decision by including this offensive piece and accepted the consequences that followed. Nevertheless, Vonnegut effectively got his message across by pushing the limits of the literary world.
No comments:
Post a Comment