On Vonnegut’s Critique Of Technology In Deadeye Dick From The Perspective Of Foucault’s Power Theory

Kurt Vonnegut(1922-2007)was one of the most active novelists in the post-war American literary field.His novel Deadeye Dick(1982)focuses on the negative impact of technological development on human beings,portraying the devastating effects of modern technological development on individuals,families,and societies.Based on Foucault’s Power Theory,this thesis examines Vonnegut’s critique of technology.From the perspectives of hegemonic discipline,power discourse,and the aesthetics of existence,this thesis interprets people’s enthrallment with technology,the control of technology over people,and individuals’ resistance against it.This thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter One is a brief introduction to Kurt Vonnegut and his novel Deadeye Dick.It summarizes the research on his novel and presents the theoretical framework and thesis statement.Chapter Two mainly examines human beings’ enthrallment with technology under hegemonic discipline.Men,disciplined by white male hegemony,project their dominant will onto gun violence to fulfill their identity values,which in turn leads them to have a fetish for guns.Under the dual discipline of medical and patriarchal authorities,women are incapable of fusing cultural expectations with their self-determination,resulting in psychological estrangement and entrapment,and therefore rely on drugs for wholeness and satisfaction.Chapter Three mainly focuses on the ideological domination of technology under power discourse.The selected discourse of politicians promotes the rationalization of war and violence,and the manipulated discourse of authority varnishes over the facts and deceives the public to justify the misapplication of the antipersonnel weapon,which undermines the judgment of the public.Chapter Four further analyzes the artistic resistance against technology under the aesthetics of existence.Through the artistry of daily life and artistic creation,the individual can heal trauma caused by technology and realize the construction of a harmonious self.Chapter Five concludes the main points of each chapter.It indicates the profound significance of Vonnegut’s critique of technology.In Deadeye Dick,Vonnegut attempts to demonstrate the complicity of technology and power,revealing the damage it causes to individuals and the harm it does to society.However,Vonnegut also shows us that human beings can realize their harmonious and autonomous selves through the affirmation of their existential responsibility and their own artistic creation.