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Document Type

Article

Abstract

In comparing Vonnegut's work and implicit philosophies to Nathanael West's novel Miss Lonelyhearts, we can observe two quite divergent views of the value hope and its corollaries possess in the modern age. Through the use of similar images, themes, and moral considerations, West and Vonnegut illustrate opposed commentaries. West's vision of American life is of a wasteland devoid of any chance at redemption, in which hope exists only as the cruel catalyst for his hero's incipient downfall. Vonnegut has what seems to be a similarly bitter view of the plight of our culture and society, but he sees hope as the best method of retaining sanity: fighting despair with optimism. In short, these two novelists use many common means to arrive at different perceptions.

Publication Date

1988

Journal Title

Draftings In

Volume

3

Issue

4

First Page

13

Last Page

20

Copyright

©1988 by the Board of Student Publications, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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