Summary:

In his first speech Kurt Vonnegut talks in a very random manor he goes on about the love he had for science and then talks about how that love went away after science was used in war to make the nuclear bombs. He also talks about the effects of a tank and a machine gun how the only way to beat a tank is with another tank. He also rambles on about having children and how he claims to pessimistic but has to lie to his wife to keep her from leaving.

The second speech was read by his son due to Kurt’s death two weeks prior. This speech is all about bashing on people. He talks about how the claim that the “Mona Lisa is a perfect painting” is completely wrong and that it was not drawn correctly. Then he goes on to say how dentistry should not be a job and he goes on to say that he is not a religious sort of person. He also then goes on to talk more about science. Where here is where I wonder what is absolute true feelings of science are because he goes back and forth on his views.

Analysis:

To be completely honest I was not very enthralled and interested in these speeches. I believe some of the satire made them better but there was still no spark for me. The only part of the speech that I really thought related to me would be when he was telling the students to not go and try and save the world by themselves right away. I believe this is true. There are always smaller ways to help out the community and environment but don’t take it on all at once especially right out of college. We all need to take the time to learn what we can handle and control in our lives before trying to reach for the stars.