Deadeye Dick

Deadeye Dick is a 1982 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Its main character, Rudy Waltz, nicknamed Deadeye Dick, commits accidental manslaughter as a child and lives his whole life seeking forgiveness for it. He was so traumatized by the events directly after the murder that he lives life as a "neuter," neither homosexual nor heterosexual. He tells the story of his life as a middle-aged man transplanted in Haiti, which symbolizes New York City, until the end, when the stream of time of the story catches up with him. At this point, he confronts an event that has been suggested and referred to throughout the novel. The generic midwestern town of Midland City, Ohio (also the setting of Breakfast of Champions), in which Rudy was raised is virtually destroyed by a neutron bomb. The ending of the book is where Vonnegut gets the chance to attack society, although there are stabs here and there throughout the novel. Another key theme throughout the book is the relationship between Waltz and his parents. Vonnegut focuses on connecting the actions and attitudes of parents to the ensuing actions and attitudes of the offspring, in this case, Rudy Waltz.

Related Topics:
Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast of Champions

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The book might also be of interest to fans of Breakfast of Champions, as there is some overlap between characters, such as Dwayne Hoover.

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