Okay so I know that in high school casual reading is not something many students do.

Actually, let’s be blunt here, required reading isn’t even something that most students do. With that in mind, I’d like you to bear with me for a second as I introduce you to Kurt Vonnegut, an American author and satirist of the late twentieth century. If this name sounds familiar to you, it’s because you’ve probably heard of some of his works, most likely Harrison Bergeron or Slaughterhouse-Five. From my time here at Central thus far, these are the only two works that I know of that the school requires, or offers as summer reading. While these are Vonnegut’s most famous works, he has published 13 other novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of nonfiction. With a wide array of works to choose from, Vonnegut can seem almost intimidating at first, but as you become familiar with his writing style and sense of humor, his works seem to become more enjoyable.

I have become familiar with Kurt Vonnegut’s style ever since I had to write a research paper on him for American Literature. In order to accomplish this I set out to read Slaughterhouse-Five, which is widely regarded as Vonnegut’s Magnum Opus. This work gave me a taste of the charm Vonnegut uses when writing his stories (of course by charm I mean his childish prose and dark, sardonic sense of humor). Vonnegut’s use of short, simple sentences to convey his point makes reading his writing a very straightforward and fairly easy job. In other words the plot and meaning of his writing is not lost within a sea of enormous words like ‘zeitgeist’. His simple prose pairs very nicely with his dark sense of humor and overarching use of satire. Satire, which is what Vonnegut is most well known for, is the use of exaggeration and ridicule to bring to light the issues of the problem being discussed. Vonnegut, being the satirist that he is, uses sardonic undertones to mock the issues he is bringing to light within his works. In summation, his easily read sentences, sense of humor, and engaging messages within his works make for casual, enjoyable reads.

Now personally, despite all of the things listed above, my favorite thing about reading Vonnegut is the rate at which you can read his works. No matter what level of reading you find yourself at, reading Vonnegut’s works are never three month long affairs. Their engaging story lines make for fairly quick reads while their deeper meanings are not difficult to find. This makes the reader feel intelligent as they decipher the messages Vonnegut has left within his works. What I am advocating for (especially if you enjoy works of fiction), is to give Vonnegut a try, because learning from his writings is one of the most enjoyable parts of reading his works.

Based of all of the factors listed previously, I think that Central would benefit from adding a one semester english elective focused solely on the works of Kurt Vonnegut. His short, entertaining works would be able to keep students engaged, while still contributing greatly to their education. I think this would be an especially good idea, because none of his works are daunting enough to dissuade readers from picking up the book and getting started. And I believe that once students get started, Vonnegut’s works would be able to keep the students entertained enough to allow them to learn from the book, instead of just spark-noting it and losing the works

underlying message. To me, the most important part of reading, whether it be mandated or casual, is to learn something from what you read, and in turn use that to try to become a better person. This is what really sets Vonnegut apart from all other authors I’ve read, he is able to take a story, and from that instill in the reader the importance of his message.