In Slapstick, Vonnegut’s main character is Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain. He is born with various deformities which he shares with his twin sister, but they are both highly intelligent. In fact, when they are together, they are a mental powerhouse of knowledge. Ironically, they are assumed to be retarded and perpetuate the misconception, retreating into their intimate sibling relationship to escape an uncaring world. They grow up in isolation, an embarrassment to their family. When they do reveal themselves, Vonnegut's crazy world gets even crazier.
America at war
Fossil fuels are dwindling and war erupts. The Chinese have miniaturized themselves in an effort at population management, and created an anti-gravity gun which they have turned on the United States. Americans have lost their identity. They are disconnected from themselves and nature. Society is crumbling, physically and spiritually. Who can save America?
The wackiest social program in the history of America
Wilbur is elected president of the United States under the banner "Lonesome No More!" and institutes an idea that he created with his twin in their younger days. Everyone gets middle names and numbers that create an extended family. For instance, Wilbur is cousins with all the Daffodils, and he is a sibling of all Daffodils numbered 11. It is a family to provide a shoulder to cry upon, or a hand to lift you. And it comes just in time, because the Chinese are about to release a plague on America!
A timely and serious social commentary... through oversize clown glasses
Vonnegut is prophetic in his story considering the realities of US energy consumption and China's rise as superpower. With 8th grade level grammar, you would expect Vonnegut’s writing to be like USA Today pittle: banal and forgettable. But like Vonnegut's other works, his simple prose belies a vivid and wonderfully convoluted plot about humanity, fed to us in his chronologically-challenged way. Vonnegut's bully pulpit is his cast of characters, which he calls forth to give his signature social commentary. And Vonnegut uses the dark comic paint brush to create an apocalyptic tale of America's future.
Slapstick is about human passions: Our need for love but our fruitless search for it. Slapstick gives us hope that humans being will endure...even after society as we know it completely falls apart. Maybe enough of us will listen to Vonnegut and stop looking for love and just start loving.
Sources:
- Slapstick, Kurt Vonnegut, Delacorte Press, 1976.
Ara Bedrossian - He has a Masters in Public Health from the UT College of Medicine and has been contracted by the state of Ohio to improve public health ...
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