Kurt Vonnegut was an American writer and humorist best known for his novels The Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle. His literary brilliance and satirical wit in his works have marked him as one of the most influential American authors of the 20th century. Here are the best Kurt Vonnegut quotes about life, love, happiness, war, death, and more that will give you a unique perspective on life.
As a novelist, essayist, and playwright, Vonnegut became known for creating stories that mixed fantasy and science fiction to show the strange and sometimes scary things about our modern world.
In his writings, he skillfully explores the complexities of the human condition, addressing important themes with a blend of humor and intelligence.
Vonnegut’s works explored themes of pacifism (the idea that all violence is bad), social equality, and common decency.
These themes were widely influenced by his time in World War II and the Dresden bombing, which he survived.
Vonnegut was not only a master storyteller but also a keen observer of the complexities of the world. Even though his stories might sound wild, they have hidden and powerful messages about how people live their lives.
Throughout his writing career, Vonnegut has published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works. Some of his works were even published after his death.
His writings have gained him both critical acclaim and a devoted readership, making him a renowned figure in the literary world.
Here is a list of famous Kurt Vonnegut quotes from the great author who redefined writing itself by opening up new forms of expression and influencing generations of writers.
Top 10 Kurt Vonnegut Quotes
- “If you can do no good, at least do no harm.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Quotes - “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Quotes By Kurt Vonnegut - “If you would be unloved and forgotten, be reasonable.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Best Kurt Vonnegut Quotes - “There is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Love Quotes - “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Famous Kurt Vonnegut Quotes About Life - “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Inspirational Kurt Vonnegut Quotes - “A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “There is no order in the world around us, we must adapt ourselves to the requirements of chaos instead.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Famous Quotes By Kurt Vonnegut
- “Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, ‘It might have been.’” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “I admire anybody who finishes a work of art, no matter how awful it may be.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Nobody’s so damn well educated that you can’t learn ninety percent of what he knows in six weeks. The other ten percent is decoration.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Human beings will be happier – not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut’s Quotes About Life
- “Live by the harmless untruths that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “I think big business is a terrible thing for the spirit of the country, as our spirit is the best thing about us.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “That is my principal objection to life, I think: It is too easy, when alive, to make perfectly horrible mistakes.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “I let the dog out, or I let him in, and we talk some. I let him know I like him, and he lets me know he likes me.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “But you find out quick enough that old friends are old friends, and nothing more — no wiser, no more help than anyone else.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “The poetry of four seasons is all wrong for this part of the planet, and this may explain why we are so depressed so much of the time.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Quotes
- “The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “How nice – to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Anything can make me stop and look and wonder, and sometimes learn.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “If people think nature is their friend, then they sure don’t need an enemy.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Dear future generations: Please accept our apologies. We were rolling drunk on petroleum.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “The planet was being destroyed by manufacturing processes, and what was being manufactured was lousy, by and large.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Best Kurt Vonnegut Quotes
- “It’s a terrible waste to be happy and not notice it.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Somebody gets into trouble, then gets out of it again. People love that story. They never get tired of it.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Our awareness is all that is alive and maybe sacred in any of us. Everything else about us is dead machinery.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “The nicest veterans…the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated war the most, were the ones who’d really fought.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “You’ll forget it when you’re dead, and so will I. When I’m dead, I’m going to forget everything—and I advise you to do the same.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “So I hope that you will do the same for the rest of your lives. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud, ‘If this isn’t nice, what is?”” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said before, bugs in amber.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Conclusion
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