Guest Staring: Kurt Vonnegut? -Siena H

Siena Hoaglund
American Studies 1/2 + 3/4 B
Ivory
12/30/15
Guest Staring: Kurt Vonnegut?

In chapter 5, Kurt Vonnegut, quite literally, guest stars in his own book. He appears when Billy wonders into the latrines, the night after a welcome feast with the Englishmen, to find that the banquet had made all of the American soldiers "...as sick as volcanoes." (Vonnegut, 125). Vonnegut is featured in the chapter in a bizarre way, as he is found wailing as he excretes everything and then, a few moments later, explaining that he just excreted his brains. However, the authors choice to present himself in such an awful situation in his own book, may have had a great meaning behind it.

The author purposely introduces himself  in such a way that it derails his appearance, by saying "An American near Billy wailed that he has excreted everything...That was I. That was me. That was the author of the book." (Vonnegut, 125). Vonnegut describes a sickened man who has had all of his modestly taken away from him, and then makes a point of explaining that he is that man.

This is not the only time authors have incorporated themselves into their stories. In the last book of the Stephen Kings series The Dark Tower the two main characters, Eddie and Jake, cross plains into a duplicate universe in which their lives are in a book. They actually track down the author, King, to see if he can help them fix the tower that holds all the worlds together. King is perceived in the story as a simple man who almost dies by being hit by a van. It may have been King's purpose to incorporate himself in the story this way, to make his readers believe him to be a simple man that can die in the most common of ways, like anyone else.

In Vonnegut's case, it seems as if Vonnegut wants the reader to not perceive him as a strong soldier, or a normal author who decided to write a book about a bombing. He wants the reader to seem him as a sad man, who went through a horrible event, and could be seen at his lowest moments, like any other soldier who experienced the war.

Could it also be possible that this out of ordinary scene introducing Vonnegut, will play a bigger piece in the story later on? Will Vonnegut ever be a part of the story again? In a less sickening way?