The Attributes of Postmodern Pluralism, Skepticism, and Relativism in Selected Kurt Vonnegut’s Four Novels

Abstract

This paper explores pluralism, skepticism, and relativism in Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano, The Sirens of Titan, Cat’s Cradle, and Slaughterhouse-Five. The study attempts to reveal Vonnegut’s depiction of contemporary postmodern politics, society, and culture. It looks into postmodernism as the inclusive term of the thematic attributes of pluralism, skepticism, and relativism which apparently imprint the typical image of postmodernism life. Therefore, the study sheds light on the selected novels’ perception of postmodernism on the verge of social and cultural change stimulated by politics that plays a crucial role in shaping postmodern man and his capacity to cope cultural pluralism. In this way, the study unravels such pluralism via highlighting the characters’ skepticism of their ability to grasp the relativism of postmodern life. The study examines Vonnegut’s postmodern dexterity as a critique of contemporary political actions that lead to new life styles. In addition, it discovers the selected novels’ narrative structure as a postmodern device of exposing contemporary socio-cultural reality that is spoiled by contemporary politics. In this way, it identifies Vonnegut’s postmodern fictional theme of relativism i.e., dealing with political sequences as challenging reality; and this reality should be amended by controlling postmodern politics.