Slapstick

In pages 60-90 of "Slapstick," Vonnegut mainly continues to describe the childhood of Daffodil Swain.  Vonnegut says that Daffodil and his twin sister are like two humans of the same mind, and cannot perform when split apart from one another.  Daffodil and his sister realize that their parents are under a lot of stress because they think that Daffodil and his sister are mentally challenged, which they are not.  Daffodil and his sister begin to act like normal human beings in front of their parents and friends, but the reactions expressed by their parents and friends are mainly shocked, rather than the sudden initial happiness that was expected.  Daffodil and his sister are confused as to why their parents are still under stress and unhappy about their children, even though Daffodil and his sister begin to act like their intelligent selves, which is what they thought would please their parents, rather than increase their confusion and stress.

Slapstick

In pages 30-60, Vonnegut mainly writes about the childhood of Daffodil Swain, the main character.  Swain and his identical twin sister were born with an odd set of features, such as abnormally large heads and six toes and fingers.  People didn't believe that the twins would live past sixteen, but they actually turned out to be very intelligent humans.  Daffodil and his sister would act like they were mentally challenged in front of people for humor, but in private, they would read books and self-educate themselves.  People finally discovered that the Swain twins were actually quite brilliant when the twins were caught reading sophisticated books in the family library.  

In the opening sentence of chapter 6, Vonnegut writes: "Perhaps some people are really born unhappy."  I think that this sentence relates to both the book and Vonnegut's life.  In the prologue, Vonnegut's childhood is often described as "sad" or "unhappy."  This is interesting because Vonnegut also stated that "Slapstick" was the closest thing he would write to a biography of his life.  I think this quote shows a lot about Daffodil Swain's depressed character in "Slapstick," and also that Vonnegut is not naturally a happy person in his life.

Slapstick

The novel that I have chosen to read for this quarter is "Slapstick," by Kurt Vonnegut.  The prologue, which occupies the first 21 pages of "Slapstick," is mainly about how Vonnegut came to writing "Slapstick."  Vonnegut explains, in the prologue, that he began writing the book on a plane going to his aunt's funeral.  Vonnegut also goes off on many tangents about his childhood and life as a writer in the prologue.  The actual novel begins on page 23, with the introduction of the main character, Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain.  Swain, commonly referred to as, "Daffodil," was the last and tallest president of the United States of America.  Daffodil resides with his daughter (Melody) and daughter's lover (Isadore) in the overgrown jungle which used to be Manhattan.  The book is set sometime in the distant future when a disease known as "the green death" brakes out, and the whole island of Manhattan must be quarantined from the rest of the United States.  Daffodil has the whole Empire State Building to himself, Melody, and Isadore; with their nearest neighbor, Vera (a slave owner), living 1.5 kilometers away.  Vonnegut writes in a humorous and jolly style, often writing "Hi ho" after many outrageous and amusing paragraphs.  So far, "Slapstick" seems to be a peculiar and entertaining novel with a twisted plot.