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1	Navigating through "a nightmare of meaninglessness without end": a semi-structural reading of Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan Cook, Joshua 23 June 2009 (has links) Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In Vonnegut's second novel, the author sets up distinct character-based binaries that represent methods of looking for meaning in the universe. This paper attempts to show that outward-focused searches for purpose, i.e. those that are directed toward a "higher power," bring only division and harm into the world. As the novel's characters operate within their assigned binaries, most of them are able to abandon their nocuous philosophies in favor of an inward-focused search for meaning, which allows them to embrace a radically humbled humanistic perspective that places equal importance upon all creatures. Kurt Vonnegut structuralism god philosophy secularism postmodernism titan sirens Structuralism Vonnegut, Kurt -- History and criticism Secularism God Postmodernism