Today in class we talked at length about authority in the novel and how a major theme may be developing. At the end of chapter 6, we are still under the impression that Rumfoord is the ultimate authority on both Earth and Mars. What other relationships are there in the novel that are similar to this power relationship that Rumfoord has with Earth and Mars, and visa versa? If these relationships are similar, how are they similar? How are they different? How can they tie into something that is externally suggested by Vonnegut? i.e. what is Kurt trying to poke fun at or satirize with his power relationships in the novel?
n.b. don’t feel as though you have to answer every question posed here, if you have a theory about one part of it, feel free to leave a comment.
Tony
An interesting authority relationship is that between Malachi and Ransom K. Fern. Although Malachi is in charge of the entire company and he has the authority to make any decisions he wants it seems that the real person in charge is Fern. It appears that often the person who is outwardly head is there as a show to the public. Vonnegut may be saying that being in charge and looking like you are in charge are two different jobs that should stay separate. Just as in the army of Mars, the real generals were not obvious to the general population, it may be that Rumfoord is trying to tell people that he is not really in charge.
The book starts out by explaining mankinds search for the meaning of life.
“What mankind hoped to learn in its outward push was who was actually in charge of all creation, and what all creation was all about.”
The meaning of life is not enough, they also ask who is in charge.
I agree with you, Juval. Fern does seem like the person in charge, but I think he is without complete control. This might seem a little out there, but is it in some way similar to the relationship between God and religious believers? While he does have the know-how and authority, is Fern really in charge? Because while Malachi wasted away all his fortune by making stupid decisions, Fern really couldn’t do anything about it but watch his empire, his life’s work, fall. Just like God, while He may be a “guiding light” to the people, is He really in charge? Malachi/man is the one making the decisions while Fern/God are mere guidance to those decisions but cannot change neither the outcome nor the decision itself.
I think that in all of the relationships in the book Vonnegut is messing with the idea of who is in charge. Fern controls the workings of the company, but takes orders from Malachi, who would seem to be in charge, but he has no idea about the inner workings of his own empire. Furthermore, Malachi takes his investment advice from the Bible, so is he actually in charge or is some other force responsible? I guess maybe he is because he was able to make the decisions that led to his company’s downfall. But what does that event tell you about who is in charge? (Note: I don’t know if it tells us anything at all.)
Also, Rumfoord appears to be in charge of everything, but certain passages foreshadow that he probably is not actually in control either. The “true generals/leaders” of the Martian army appear to control the soldiers, but they are, in turn, controlled by Rumfoord. Also, despite their control boxes, they were not able to control Unk. This messes with the idea of free will. I don’t know where I’m going with this, and I seem to have more questions now than when I began writing this, but I hope that it provokes thought in others as well.
I really like your idea about the meaning of life AND wanting to know who is in charge!!
Although, I feel like Vonnegut wrote that first page to confuse the reader by the end… when you think about it, mankind can never understand the meaning of life without knowing who made it that way. SO both are tied, however the text seems to say otherwise…
Rumfoord for example, establishes a meaning to life of the Martian population. Namely, “destroy earthlings” as part one of a long plan to essentially save humanity… BUT he does not admit to being GOD or any almighty power, even though he assumes this “greater power” position by using his knowledge of the future in order to control alot of Martian and Human life, as well life on other planets.
continued…
It seems as thought nobody wants to assume responsibilty for being the reason behind meaning…. but in my opinion there can be no meaning to anything without a clear reason behind it… (this is a paraphrased Aristotle anecdote)
*******Spoiler Alert****************** Those who haven’t finished the book please finish before reading this post.
A similar power relationship is between that of Rumfoord and Salo. (like to that brought up by Juval, of Malachi and Fern). It would seem in their friendship that Salo would be the one in power, being from Tralfamadore, and seeing as they have control over all of mankind’s accomplishments. However, it seems really that Rumfoord has the control over Salo, by manipulating him into thinking they are friends, using Salo for his own devices, for his UWTB, for his spaceship plans, and further abusing his power over Salo by convincing him to break his promise to his home planet, by revealing the message he is carrying. Rumfoord wields his power over Salo, similarly almost to a schoolgirl playing the “we aren’t friends unless…” card. I found that whole part so juvenile on Rumfoord’s part, and yet quite appropriate to Rumfoord’s character. While seen as this all knowing being, respected by most Earthlings and all Martians, and essentially portraying himself as a god, his actions I found were consistently juvenile. As I started to mention in class the other day, his main goal, after the Martian attack on Earth, was to send Malachi, Beatrice and their bastard child Chrono, into exile. This end, was supposed to justify the means (the death of innocents) but to me it seemed like a revenge plot on the man who deflowered his virgin wife, his unfaithful wife, and their illegitimate love child.
I had a thought:
what if the Rumford represents the heads of state,business men and groups in power on earth…BUT that don’t have any actual power in relation to the universe..
In a sense, I think Vonnegut is trying to makes humanity realize how small we are compared to the greater scheme of things. For example, we in Canada live such privilieged lives on a whole when compared to someone in Cambodia. But we still find miseries to complain about…
Im still working towards chapter 8, so Im on the path of believing that Rumford is not necessarily in charge. I think he is just helping Malachi and others go towards the right direction. You cant really say that Fern is in charge either because he has no power at all in telling Malachi how to act, he simply just sits there and watches everything go down hill.He obviously was aware of just how bad things were going but still had no authority to do anything. I think that Rumford is somewhat in the same position, however, he just plays more of a role in the bigger picture. I think he knows exactly what will happen to Malachi and Bee but still has no control over their actual decisions. If we’re somewhat relating this to religion, maybe hes just acting as a prophet instead of God himself.
I thought of the firgure that Rumfoord that plays in the novel, and how in our daily lives we experience moments in which there is a sort of authoritative figure that indirectly controls our lives ??