46 pages • 1 hour read
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1965A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
What is the significant connection between Eliot’s obsession with fire and his experiences as a soldier in World War II? How do those experiences inform his actions in the novel?
Eliot is a multi-millionaire. Today, the wealthiest people are billionaires and beyond. How is this story relevant to society today?
How does the novel define poetry, and how does it function thematically?
What is the significance of Pena fishing during Amanita and Caroline’s lunch?
Identify three themes in Trout’s work and discuss their relation to the novel’s themes.
Aside from Mushari’s desire to control the Rosewater fortune, what is another reason he becomes fixated on Eliot and the question of his rationality? Support your response with textual evidence.
The fear of an automated society is a theme throughout the novel. Could machines ever completely replace people in the workforce? Why or why not?
What is the significance of Trout being clean-shaven when he meets Eliot at the psychiatric hospital? How does he change the longer he stays there?
Without the sum of money that is at stake, would anyone in the novel care about Eliot’s mental and emotional health? Support your response with textual evidence.
Choose three passages that exemplify Vonnegut’s use of satire in the novel. How does the use of humor make Vonnegut’s critique of society more effective? Cite examples from the text.
Related Titles
By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
