Ryan Scott
August 13th, 2011, 08:06 AM
The Sirens of Titan is Vonnegut's second novel and the first in which he begins to introduce the universe of characters and references that will appear throughought his other work. He's also bringing in references to short stories he'd published the previous decade in various magazines, many that would later be compiled in Welcome to the Monkey House.
Titan is about two men, Winston Niles Rumfoord, an eccentric millionaire who travels through an outer-space phenomenon and becomes present in multiple places and times. The playing with of time is a major theme for Vonnegut throughout his writing. The other man is Malachi Constant, a billionaire heir whose life consists, initially or wantonness and wreckless living.
The plot is complicated and relatively pointless - it involves an invasion of Earth by people from Mars, who are really earthlings brainwashed by Rumfood for the task. It also involves a stranded alien, a machine from the planet Trafalmadore, whose people have a powerful yet undiscovered control over Earth's history.
The plot is Vonnegut's way of dealing with larger issues, such as the purpose of life, the value of religion, and an exploration of free will. Rumfood becomes the vehicle of omniscience used to challenge conventional notions, and Constant the unknowing vehicle to represent the real position of humanity.
Much like in Player Piano, Vonnegut is still working out his narrative path as he explores such questions. He does begin to weave in what will be his pat answer the the mysteries of the universe - "I don't know, but we should probably be nice to each other."
I prefer the contained-ness of Player Piano to the uncertainty of The Sirens of Titan, but Titan certainly brings in a deeper and more thought-provoking narrative. It's also fun to see how Vonnegut's complex universe initially develops.
Titan is about two men, Winston Niles Rumfoord, an eccentric millionaire who travels through an outer-space phenomenon and becomes present in multiple places and times. The playing with of time is a major theme for Vonnegut throughout his writing. The other man is Malachi Constant, a billionaire heir whose life consists, initially or wantonness and wreckless living.
The plot is complicated and relatively pointless - it involves an invasion of Earth by people from Mars, who are really earthlings brainwashed by Rumfood for the task. It also involves a stranded alien, a machine from the planet Trafalmadore, whose people have a powerful yet undiscovered control over Earth's history.
The plot is Vonnegut's way of dealing with larger issues, such as the purpose of life, the value of religion, and an exploration of free will. Rumfood becomes the vehicle of omniscience used to challenge conventional notions, and Constant the unknowing vehicle to represent the real position of humanity.
Much like in Player Piano, Vonnegut is still working out his narrative path as he explores such questions. He does begin to weave in what will be his pat answer the the mysteries of the universe - "I don't know, but we should probably be nice to each other."
I prefer the contained-ness of Player Piano to the uncertainty of The Sirens of Titan, but Titan certainly brings in a deeper and more thought-provoking narrative. It's also fun to see how Vonnegut's complex universe initially develops.