Topic Selection for Final Project - S681
For a week I brainstormed on the topic that I would choose for my paper. Other topics that I considered were "Books as Other Things" and "Evidence of Personal Lives in Author Works." But neither of those topics, while they do interest me, were speaking to me. As I sat at my desk, hand resting on fists, staring at a blank screen, I glanced to my left and realized my solution was staring me in the face. Literally. My Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. mini-shrine was right there, complete with candle, finger puppet, greeting card, quotes, and my favorite Vonnegut book, "Armageddon in Retrospect." It does not get much more iconic than Vonnegut. The hardest part of project for me was over: the idea.
Problem Statement:
Provide evidence that Vonnegut's book "Slaughterhouse-Five" should be considered a cultural icon.
Statement of Need for Study:
I researched "Slaughterhouse-Five as cultural icon" and was surprised that there were no directly related articles. There were similar articles, but none that specifically mentioned the phrase "cultural icon."
Description of Strengths and Limitations of Approach:
The biggest strength of my approach was also the biggest limitation: there is an overwhelming amount of information out there about Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and his works and often the details don't match up with one another. That can be frustrating when you are looking for facts. The sheer amount of information did put me on overload and I originally started out trying to write everything about Vonnegut and everything about "Slaughterhouse-Five." While that would be a fascinating project to undertake, it would literally take years. I had to narrow down my information and focus my research on a few reasons why the book should be considered a cultural icon.
Process in Completing the Study:
I checked out several books about Vonnegut from the library. Some were biographies, some were autobiographies. Some were as old as 1979 and others were as new as 2011. I researched extensively online, reading articles, watching lectures and videos (videos of Kurt speaking are always a treat). And finally, I drove an hour to downtown Indianapolis and paid a visit to the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library. I snapped a lot of photos. I read through manuscripts and letters and other primary resources on the pre-loaded computer there (although there is no printer connected, they allowed me to take photos of the screen with my phone - unfortunately, that doesn't work so well.) I saw Kurt's actual Purple Heart (he got for frostbite, and he never failed to joke about it.) The staff and volunteers there are always very nice and they only asked that I mention the Library if I used any of the pictures I took. Done.
I did have one major problem with this project, though. It had been 3 years since I'd read "Slaughterhouse-Five" and I was having trouble remembering the sequence of events - which seems like it's a moot point since Billy Pilgrim travels randomly through time. It does matter, however, when you are writing a synopsis of the story. So - to make my determination of "cultural icon" authentic, I had to read the book again. Wikipedia has a nice synopsis, but if really you want to understand the book, you truly have to walk through Illium, NY; Dresden, Germany; and the planet Tralfamadore in Billy Pilgrim's silver-painted boots.
Finally, I was having trouble coming up with a format to report my findings of evidence of "Slaughterhouse-Five" as a cultural icon. It seemed too stuffy to report it with bullet points - that really isn't Vonnegut's style. So I had an imaginary chat with Vonnegut, and I think it went rather well. It was fun. I thought I already knew quite a bit about Kurt and "Slaughterhouse-Five," but I actually learned a lot more.
For a week I brainstormed on the topic that I would choose for my paper. Other topics that I considered were "Books as Other Things" and "Evidence of Personal Lives in Author Works." But neither of those topics, while they do interest me, were speaking to me. As I sat at my desk, hand resting on fists, staring at a blank screen, I glanced to my left and realized my solution was staring me in the face. Literally. My Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. mini-shrine was right there, complete with candle, finger puppet, greeting card, quotes, and my favorite Vonnegut book, "Armageddon in Retrospect." It does not get much more iconic than Vonnegut. The hardest part of project for me was over: the idea.
Problem Statement:
Provide evidence that Vonnegut's book "Slaughterhouse-Five" should be considered a cultural icon.
Statement of Need for Study:
I researched "Slaughterhouse-Five as cultural icon" and was surprised that there were no directly related articles. There were similar articles, but none that specifically mentioned the phrase "cultural icon."
Description of Strengths and Limitations of Approach:
The biggest strength of my approach was also the biggest limitation: there is an overwhelming amount of information out there about Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and his works and often the details don't match up with one another. That can be frustrating when you are looking for facts. The sheer amount of information did put me on overload and I originally started out trying to write everything about Vonnegut and everything about "Slaughterhouse-Five." While that would be a fascinating project to undertake, it would literally take years. I had to narrow down my information and focus my research on a few reasons why the book should be considered a cultural icon.
Process in Completing the Study:
I checked out several books about Vonnegut from the library. Some were biographies, some were autobiographies. Some were as old as 1979 and others were as new as 2011. I researched extensively online, reading articles, watching lectures and videos (videos of Kurt speaking are always a treat). And finally, I drove an hour to downtown Indianapolis and paid a visit to the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library. I snapped a lot of photos. I read through manuscripts and letters and other primary resources on the pre-loaded computer there (although there is no printer connected, they allowed me to take photos of the screen with my phone - unfortunately, that doesn't work so well.) I saw Kurt's actual Purple Heart (he got for frostbite, and he never failed to joke about it.) The staff and volunteers there are always very nice and they only asked that I mention the Library if I used any of the pictures I took. Done.
I did have one major problem with this project, though. It had been 3 years since I'd read "Slaughterhouse-Five" and I was having trouble remembering the sequence of events - which seems like it's a moot point since Billy Pilgrim travels randomly through time. It does matter, however, when you are writing a synopsis of the story. So - to make my determination of "cultural icon" authentic, I had to read the book again. Wikipedia has a nice synopsis, but if really you want to understand the book, you truly have to walk through Illium, NY; Dresden, Germany; and the planet Tralfamadore in Billy Pilgrim's silver-painted boots.
Finally, I was having trouble coming up with a format to report my findings of evidence of "Slaughterhouse-Five" as a cultural icon. It seemed too stuffy to report it with bullet points - that really isn't Vonnegut's style. So I had an imaginary chat with Vonnegut, and I think it went rather well. It was fun. I thought I already knew quite a bit about Kurt and "Slaughterhouse-Five," but I actually learned a lot more.
The cat helped, too.