When Kilgore Trout had finally bit the dust, his tombstone was marked with a phrase which achieved somewhat of a legendary status: "We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane". This brings up a number of questions, such as "what is humane in this context?", what does "healthy" imply, and what exactly happens when our ideas cease to be humane? How does it come to that point?
While these are the kinds of questions you usually won’t get a concrete answer to, Kurt Vonnegut decided to explore the concept of falling into madness in his novel, Breakfast of Champions.
Before going into the book, you should know that Kurt Vonnegut is one of America’s most influential writers, daringly exploring complex and sometimes controversial themes in his works. He used the medium of writing to share his unique and interesting ideas about the world, often giving philosophies and ideas priority over the story. He wrote numerous masterpieces, including Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle.
In any case, Breakfast of Champions tells the story of Dwayne Hoover, a run-of-the-mill auto dealer with nothing of note about him. However, it seems that the general breakneck pace and pressure of life are getting to him, as slowly but surely, he starts a descent into madness. It seems that his ideas are becoming less and less humane, and we are thus presented with an exposition of what happens to someone when they go through the process of losing their mind.
Also, Vonnegut takes great care to explore how the condition affects Dwayne’s surroundings, friends, family, and any other character he comes into contact with. As you can guess, the story takes a back seat in this one in favor of a deep and thought-provoking character study, and is usual with Vonnegut complete with thoughts and philosophies about war, sex, politics, America, and other things I’ve surely missed.
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Kurt Vonnegut
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