On Technology And Human Alienation In Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut(1922—2007) is one of the most influential novelists in the circle of contemporary American literature. In his fifty-year-long literary career, he has published fourteen novels, a great number of short stories, essays and drama.Slaughterhouse-Five is his first successful novel which establishes his literary reputation. Based on Vonnegut’s personal experience in World War Two,Slaughterhouse-Five reveals the cruelty of war and the absurdity of the postwar living condition of people. Due to the realistic significance reflected in the book, Vonnegut gets a lot of approval from both critics and common readers, and becomes the public spokesman of the era.Since its publication in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five has evoked much academic interest in the circle of the literary criticism. Scholars have made thorough research on the novel’s structure, theme, and artistic features, such as the anti-war theme, black humor, and unique narrative techniques and so on. However, the relation between technology and human’s alienation in the novel has not been widely noticed. As a writer and social critic, Vonnegut always focuses on the influence of the development of technology on human beings, and there are many descriptions in Slaughterhouse-Five related to the issue. Therefore, the thesis attempts to analyze the effect of technology on human alienation, pointing out technology is the root of people’s alienation in the postmodern society.This thesis consists of three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.The introduction gives brief information about the main point of Slaughterhouse-Five,the literature review on the novel both at home and abroad, and an overview of the concept of alienation.The body includes three chapters. It is aimed at revealing the impact of technology on human alienation from three different aspects.Chapter one argues about technology as productivity on people’s alienation. As part of the productive forces, technology causes the large-scale production of the killing weapons which tortures people’s body and mind. After war, technology plays an important role in the formation of mechanized society. People’s life and work are controlled by machines, which make people alienated, cruel, and indifferent.Chapter two is related to the impact of technology as ideology on people’s alienation. According to Marcuse’s opinion, technology is a kind of ideology incapitalized society. It works to create false consciousness and conceal the historical truth. Technology has become a tool for rulers to maintain domination. Under the thought control, people have lost their judgment and critical thinking.Chapter three gives an explanation of technology as a cultural force on people’s alienation. In the postwar American society, technology has greatly promoted the development of the media. However, it brings about the popularity of vulgar culture.Culture has been highly commercialized and loses its oppositional and transcending elements. Under the circumstance, people have to suffer the spiritual deterioration.The conclusion summarizes the negative influence of three dimensions of technology, and then points out Vonnegut’s critical thinking of the technology, and gives a warning for people who indulge in the development of technology.