Blog #2

“When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed” (Vonnegut, 231).
Since this book, starts and is intended at first to be based upon the writer of this book, to write another book on the topic that the entire book revolves around, the writer, and writing itself, obviously plays a big role.
“taking on a sacred obligation,” to me implies that one takes on the responsibility of explaining in detail, something of great importance. The main character in this story goes through a great deal of troublesome adventure to finish what he had started with the curiosity of the ice-nine, which he then felt obligated to discover the information he had been seeking.
When one writes, they have certain expectations to fulfill to a reader. When a writer begins a topic, giving the suspense throughout the piece, that the mystery will be revealed, they must successfully do so in finishing what they started, so to speak. Not only though, are these the only expectations, nobody wants to read a article, short story, or novel, that has no entertaining or “enlightening” aspects in it, which is where “producing beauty and enlightenment” comes into play.
Does anyone want to watch a movie that doesn’t get to the actual theme of the story until the movie is 45 minutes in? Not usually. Same goes with a book or writing. “Producing a writing at top speed,” rather than dragging on pointless information in a reading will lose a reader’s interest.
“Any many can call time out, but no man can say how long the time out will be”(Vonnegut,248).
What if Dr. Hoenikker hadn’t died? Had he had a great intension for the invention he had made? The outcome of the story could had been nowhere even in the back of Dr. Hoenikker’s mind. Obviously he had known what his invention of ice-nine was capable of, but could that be why he had not yet done anything with it? Why would someone create such a substance that had no intensions of improving something or affecting something, or quite possibly the whole world, in a positive manner? We can only assume that from the outcome of the story that Dr. Hoenikker knew what his ice-nine would one day do, but since the man was so brilliant in everything he did or created, one can only believe that he had other intensions.
Mentioned, were some positive things that ice-nine¬ could do was help the military move easier in that they could do so on solid surfaces, rather than having to trudge through the mud, but while doing so would not only make those muddy surfaces solid, but everything that had moisture, solid as well, leaving everything to die. Maybe Dr. Hoenikker wasn’t finished with his started experiment and died before he got the chance to show what his finished, improved, non-destroying product would be……. We will never know.


Q: If ice-nine could have improved, rather than have destroyed, what factors would have made the difference?
Q: Hadn’t Dr. Hoenikker known enough about his own discovery to know that it was harmful to humans?
Q: What could have been his positive intensions to producing ice-nine?