A (Re-)creative voyage on the ark to the end of the world, or how an author fashioned himself as a God, or a diablo with Darwin: On Kurt Vonnegut’s “Galapagos”
Jerzy Kamionowski
Faculty of Philology. University of Bialystokhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3515-8751
Abstract
This paper analyzes the novel Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in its thematic and formal dimensions. The author aims, first, to identify the work's references to scientific issues concerning Darwin's theory of evolution and so-called "social Darwinism." Secondly, he identifies the novel's strictly literary references, the citation of which allows him to draw conclusions about the nature of its intertextuality. Of particular relevance here is the relationship of the Galapagos with the biblical myth of the Flood. As a result, the author of the article substantiates the hypothesis that Vonnegut consistently cultivates, for deeply didactic purposes, postmodern metafiction with a moralistic message.
Keywords:
postmodernism, metafiction, intertextuality, myth of the flood, evolutionary theoryReferences
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Faculty of Philology. University of Bialystok https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3515-8751
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