An Attack On America :: essays research papers

Vonnegut uses satire, from innocent innuendo and wit to burlesque, sarcasm and cosmic irony to attack American society in the 1950’s and 1960’s. These forms of satire can be seen in ‘Miss Temptation’, ‘Welcome to the Monkey House’ and ‘All the Kings Men’. In ‘Miss Temptation’, Susanna’s â€Å"diabolical beauty† (75) or evil beauty mad Puritanism to fall â€Å"into such disrepair† (75). The innuendo of Vonnegut’s opening sentence attacks the so-called modern thinkers of the day and the ignorance and attitudes of the 1950’s conformist people. Vonnegut compares American civilization to that of the Puritans, who were extremely intolerant of anything different and posses the epitome of conformity. Puritans did not even go to plays or shows, and Susanna was â€Å"an actress† (77). The theme of Puritanism and innocent sexual innuendo is carried on throughout the story. Hinkley laments that â€Å"all of [his] pleasures are looking at what used to be pleasures† (81). Hinkley along with the rest of the town, find their only enjoyment throughout the day is by watching Susanna’s â€Å"tinkling walk† around the town. Suppressed by Puritan attitudes, the townspeople can only enjoy Susanna from afar. Wit is also used in ‘Miss Temptation’, as Susanna uses it against Fuller. Susanna criticizes Fuller and the other â€Å"dumb toots† (86) who judge her y her appearance. She could not help it if Fuller wanted to â€Å"kiss her† (86) and asks, â€Å"whose fault is that?† (86). It was not Susanna’s fault that she was born with â€Å"feathery hair† (75) and black eyes. Fuller hated Susanna merely because she was a girl and supposedly made â€Å"more people unhappy† (78) than happy. It was not the town that was unhappy with Susanna, but Fuller who felt that â€Å"beautiful girls gave [him] a pain† (82). The wit and irony of it all is that Fuller caused Susanna more pain than he ever felt from a girl by excluding her from the human race. Sarcasm is also used in the story. Fuller criticizes American women as being â€Å"the greatest actresses in the world† (77), only to â€Å"put an ice cube† (77) in a man’s hand. In ‘Welcome to the Monkey House’, Puritan ethics and morals are taken a step farther to outlaw any pleasure including sex, even for reproduction, â€Å"thus science and morals go hand in hand† (31). Just like Fuller took the humanness out of Susanna because of her sexuality and sensualness, the ethical suicide parlors and ethical suicide pill took the humanness out of the society as a whole.