Category Archives: Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Summary and Review – The Very First Billionaire Space Race

An alien, Salo, stranded in Earth’s solar system manipulates humanity over eons to produce and deliver a much needed spare part. We learn of the plot through the eyes of Malachi Constant / Unk, who appears to be manipulated by Winston Niles Rumfoord, who himself is manipulated by Salo, who is a machine that lacks free will. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Epilogue: Reunion with Stony

eatrice dies on Titan at age 74, Constant buries her and Chrono mourns her loss with a flock of Titanic bluebirds. Salo surprises Constant, who thought his repairs had not worked. Salo offers to take Chrono and Unk to Earth, Unk accepts. Unk is dropped off at a bus station in Indiana, where he dies. In Unk’s final visions – induced by Salo’s hypnosis – Stony Stephenson appears in a starship to reunite Unk with Beatrice in paradise. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Chapter 12 – The Gentleman from Tralfamadore

carries the needed part in the form of his good luck piece. Humanity’s history was secretly guided to deliver the spare part, Salo is worried that WNR will find this out and be upset. WNR dies before Salo is able to divulge the secret message he is to carry for another 17 million years, his death drives Salo mad and he destroys himself. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Chapter 11 – We Hate Malachi Constant Because …

Unk / Malachi Constant / The Space Wanderer is led in to the outdoor worship area constructed by Rumfoord, where he is sentenced to exile on Titan with his wife, Bee, and son, Chrono. Unk briefly thought he had a future on Earth and he yearns for his friend Sonny, who he learns he killed. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Chapter 10 – An Age of Miracles

Chapter 10 describes Rumfoord’s Church of God the Utterly Indifferent, which shares many of the themes and tropes of self handicap that Vonnegut would go on to explore further in the short story Harrison Bergeron. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Chapter 5, Letter from an Unknown Hero

apparently secretly in charge of the mind radios and Unk’s entire battalion. Unk finds the letter – written to Unk by someone cataloging their knowledge of Mars, while being subject to frequent mind wipes – which tells Unk about the mind control, the invasion plans, his best friend Stony Stephenson, that he has a partner, Bee, and son, Chrono, and that he should not trust Boaz. The letter was written by Unk before his mind wipe. After reading the letter, Unk learns the assault on Earth has begun. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Chapter 4 – Tent Rentals

This chapter is the best fiction writing about the dangers of propaganda, brainwashing, censorship, and centralized control. A man wordlessly strangles another in front of a crowd of ten thousand, unable to communicate, unable to object, and unable to think for himself. Continue reading

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan: Page by Page, Chapter by Chapter Review: Chapter 3, United Hotcake Preferred

Malachi Constant learns that his business is bankrupt, reads a letter from his deceased father written in case this should happen, and signs up to join the Martian Army, which has engineered this situation. The same Martian spies are with Beatrice Rumfoord disguised as business advisers when we see The Whale, rechristened the Rumfoord, take off. Continue reading

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