As we have discussed a bit in class, there seems to be this idea of absent-mindedness that exists in Vonnegut’s society. In the early chapters, we have learned of Felix Hoenikker’s inability to interact with others and how he always seems to be detached from his surroundings. Dr. Hoenikker never interacted with his kids, and the first time he did so, his son dashed away immediately in tears, unable to cope with his father’s ugliness. Later, when his daughter’s car breaks down, she is unable to fix the problem, and Dr. Hoenikker, completely indifferent to the situation, simply shares that he likes turtles. We see even more of this detachment when we meet Dr. Breed's secretary at Hoenikker's office.
The absent-minded nature of this society, in my opinion, directly relates to science itself. The stress on finding the truth in science completely outshines the other aspects like morality. With the development of the atomic bomb, Hoenikker never took into account the many lives that would be taken when they dropped it on Hiroshima. I think this is one of Vonnegut's underlying messages, that science overpowers morality and ignores its effect on others.
I also think Dr. Hoenikker lacks these morals and shows no concern for other people. First, when Angela is scolding her brothers as they play in the bush, she calls for their father, who sticks his head out of the window and quickly returns to his work without any care for the commotion. And when the doctor's wife passes away, he promptly pulls his daughter out of school to be the caretaker for the family. He shows no regard for her future and ignores the fact that he should be the responsible parent to his children.
I find the idea that science ignores morality or is amoral to be a very interesting point. The idea of using nuclear power, while obviously dangerous, is not dangerous on its own. It is from the environment and situation in which humans have decided to use the power to make a bomb with the potential to wipe out entire cities and even countries. As the scale of scientific innovation become more powerful, the decisions humans make about how to use the innovation becomes more important, but the potential profit from the innovations are high. Though Vonnegut could be trying to explore the fact that once humans get themselves hold of nuclear power, they rush to use it for violence rather than helping improve the quality of life of others.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Dr. Hoenikker is ignorant of people's feelings and morals. But his statement earlier, "What is sin?" makes me wonder if he is more innocent than ignorant. You can call someone ignorant if he fails to recognize the sins he might create, but if he doesn't even know what sin is, can you blame him for not knowing? But either way, even if Dr. Hoenikker is innocent instead of ignorant, it still serves well as a satirical commentary on the lack of maturity that went into creating something as serious as the nuclear bomb.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find fascinating is that Dr. Hoenikker's research is an attempt to find order in the world and organize chaos (sort of like Bokonism!). However, the result of this is chaos in his every day life, and it makes me wonder if there is a finite amount of order and a finite amount of entropy in society.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like Jianna's question. His line reminded me of Jim Casey from the Grapes of Wrath when he said that there "ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue." Perhaps Dr. Hoenikker has created this alternative morality with the goal of progress and organization. He doesn't consider the impact of what he has done; instead, he focuses on crossing the threshold into a completely unprecedented category of warfare.
At the very least, we can be certain that Vonnegut's purpose (or at least one of them) is directed towards the satirization of scientists. By revealing the distinctive dichotomy between those with the greatest responsibility to the fate of mankind and the fact that they seem disconnected from all humans on the most basic levels causes a form of anxiety amongst us readers. Therefore, I disagree that Hoenikker's actions are done out of immaturity. Instead, they seem to be committed as a result of his inhumanity, a fault much deeper and much much more sinister than simple naivete.
ReplyDeleteI wonder where Dr. Felix's inhumanity stems from - is the origin his intelligence? Or is it just an innate quality that is directly tied to his identity?
DeleteI also wanted to pose the question do you think that Dr. Felix purposefully acts in his detached manner? Does he want to foster relationships (we see him try with his son but no one else), or are they just another made-up game? And what is the line that delineated made-up games from real games?
DeleteI tend to agree with Henry's assertions. I think with the scenes Vonnegut has depicted so far, he has satirized scientists' blind devotion to the scientific "absolute truth," which causes them to sacrifice morality, in the same way that he satirizes religious characters' devotion to their religion, which makes them lose their grasp on truths evident in reality.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably going to bring this up more than I should, but the research lab operates in a manner surprisingly similar to modern day tech companies. Hoenikker is operating at a level no one else around him can understand, which leaves him free to play and create with unlimited resources at his disposal and without anyone monitoring him or checking up on the ethical ramifications of his work. He's not evil, he just wants to explore new ideas, and those ideas happen to be very, very powerful.
ReplyDeleteMany comments have brought up how the scientists' blind devotion to "truth" is being satirized here, but I am not completely convinced by that yet. Why is it the scientists' fault for the damage that their creations have done? I believe that they sacrifice morality because they are naive and don't recognize the impact of their inventions. They aren't under the stress of finding "truth" because as Asa notes, their research is aimless; it doesn't matter what they find, if anything. This interpretation, at least, ultimately concludes that most people in the book are absent-minded and equally as culpable as the scientists.
ReplyDeleteNow days it seems as if we see this kind of antisocial genius more often than ever before. In fact, our society is becoming more and more filled with this kind of person. For many people, consumption in modern technology detracts from social skills and allows them to be more like Dr. Hoenikker. Whether Vonnegut knew it or not, he was painting a picture of what society is turning into.
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