My name is Sarah Spicer. I graduated in Spring 2016 with a double major in English Literature and Psychology as well as a minor in Writing. The Honors program was on my radar since my freshman year when Professor Farabaugh told me it was something I might be interested in pursuing later in my undergraduate career.
My research is focused on Kilgore Trout, a recurring character in several novels by Kurt Vonnegut. Trout, an unsuccessful and pessimistic science fiction author, is an “alter ego” for Vonnegut but is also a fascinating character when taken on his own. I plan on looking at what the repeated inclusion of Trout adds to Vonnegut’s themes and philosophy. Vonnegut’s simultaneously poignant and sardonic characterization of humanity has captivated me since I first picked up one of his books in high school, and through my thesis research I hope to be able to unravel at least a small portion of how Vonnegut creates such a picture of humanity.
Proposal
“The Role of Kilgore Trout in Four Vonnegut Novels” by Sarah Spicer
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography by Sarah Spicer
Critical Thesis
“Cracked Messiah: Parody and Parable in Kurt Vonnegut’s Troutean Novels” by Sarah Spicer