“Love May Fail, But Courtesy Will Prevail”:The Five Things that Kurt Vonnegut taught me about Life

This year, 2019, marks the fiftieth anniversary of Slaughterhouse-Five, the seminal work of Kurt Vonnegut. Kurt Vonnegut has a very special place in my heart. I was introduced to his work in college through a friend, and I read many of his most popular books within a matter of months. His work led me, in some ways, to be an English major, and it ultimately helped form my conscience. There were aspects of myself that Kurt brought out and named, such as the desire to question authority. But as he showed it could be done with more jest and less anger, I was both reinvigorated and reassured. Vonnegut also helped to inform and broaden my worldview, challenged me in different ways, pushed me to be more self-critical, and even changed my humor to be more sardonic.

I vividly remember April 12, 2007, the day of Kurt’s passing. I was on Spring Break, and the news flooded my social media stream and my fellow English major alumni were trading stories and personal eulogies. I was beside myself that America had lost such an eloquent voice. I ran to where any decent Vonnegutian would: the library. Over the course of that night, I read a lesser-known book, Slapstick, in its entirety, a fascinating coping mechanism indeed. It was a way to process, as I would continue to be sustained by…