Animal Studies and Ecological HumanismAnimal Studies and Ecological Humanism
The present study， therefore， is an attempt to explore the possible signifcance of animals in Vonnegut's fction， in particular， their relevance and contribution to Vonnegut's unique expression of humanism。 The theory of animal studies offers useful theoretical perspectives and approaches for the study， whereas the concept of ecological humanism works well as a resolution to the Vonnegutian puzzle of attacking and advocating humanism at the same time。The roles of animals link the two up。
As animal studies and ecological humanism are both emerging felds of studies， a relatively detailed introduction to each is necessary。 But let's begin with a general browse of the animal gallery in the Vonnegut world。
A。 Thematic Matter：Animals in the Vonnegut World
At first thought， Vonnegut seems to have little to do with animals-he is so predominantly concerned with the humankind， with their present condition and future possibilities。 He once said that the motivation for him to write is to“catch people before they become generals and Senators and Presidents， and poison their minds with humanity”（CKV 5）。Animals are so inconspicuous in contrast to this overwhelming theme that it is very likely to be ignored。
However， if only we consider his titles together， Vonnegut's fondness of animals becomes apparent：Cat's Cradle， Jailbird， Canary in a Cathouse， Welcome to the Monkey House， and Look at the Birdie。 There are also many animals in the titles of short stories：“Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog”，“Deer in the Works”，“All King's Horses”，and“The Petrifed Ants”。When it comes to his masterpiece， Slaughterhouse-Five， the presence of animals is alsounquestionable。After all， slaughterhouse is a place where livestock are killed。Whereas the title is often read as a metaphor for the brutal killing on the battlefeld， a familiar rhetoric in American literature since Stephen Crane， the fact that in the novel it refers to a real slaughterhouse demands more consideration。
Although many of the animals in these titles can be taken as metaphors or are simply colloquial expressions in which the animals have lost their realistic signification， the author's preference for the animal-related trope instead of a more common expression， for instance，“prisoner”for“jailbird”，or“look at the camera”instead of“look at the birdie”，seems to suggest more implications。 As the linguists tell us，“Metaphor is not just a matter of language”，there could be deep conceptual signifcance in them（Lakoff and Johnson 6）。
A large body of animals begins to surface in Vonnegut's fictional world when we keep our eyes open for them。 In Slaughterhouse-Five alone， there are over 30 kinds of animals， many of which appear more than once， such as the dog。In Cat's Cradle， there are 16 kinds of animals；in Hocus Pocus，40；in Slapstick，50.In Galapagos， animals are all over the pages， a fact easy to understand， considering the biological diversity that characterizes the islands。Roughly estimated， there are more than 200 kinds of animals in Vonnegut's works。Some are domestic， some wild；some are metaphors or imaginary， some real and living。Among these animals， Vonnegut's favorites are dogs， horses， cats， rats， fish， birds， monkeys， chimpanzees， giraffes， rhinoceros， aardvarks， ants， bugs， germs， and the imaginary unicorn。Sometimes he refers to the animals in the collective noun， such as mammals， dogs， birds， organisms， or simply“animals”。At other times， he uses specifc denominations， such as the German Shepherd or the Pekingese dog instead of simply dogs；sparrows， eagles， or warblers instead of birds；carp， tuna， perch， or pickerel instead of fsh；ticks， viruses， and germs， instead of microorganisms。
More importantly， although it is true that they seldom assume central positions in the works， many animal images are much more than merely a linguistic rhetoric employed in order to achieve vividness and forcefulness。 Some of them actually perform powerful roles and invite us to think that they carry messages that might contribute to the central theme。In The Sirens of Titan， for example， two characters determine to spend the rest of their lives with animals。One is Boaz， the selfsh and evil commander of the Martian army who plans to abduct Unk， the male protagonist， on the Martian invasion to Earth but is exiled to Mercury with Unk instead。After three years stranded on Mercury， Boaz comes to love the harmoniums， a thin， kite-like creature inhabiting the caves where he and Unk are imprisoned by the God-like Rumfoord。When Unk tells him that he has figured out the way to leave Mercury and return to Earth， Boaz declines to go with him。He has decided to stay on the planet， taking care of the harmoniums。The narrator tells us that thus Boaz turns from the Martian army commander who cannot help taking pleasure in torturing fellow soldiers into a“wise， decent， weeping， brown Hercules”（ST 212）。The other character is Chrono， the son of Unk and Beatrice on Mars。
A sullen and indifferent boy brought up on a desert-like planet， Chrono shows no interest in anything but a game of German batball。When he is exiled to the planet Titan with Unk and Beatrice， however， Chrono is fascinated with the enormous bluebirds there，“the most admirable creatures on Titan”。He eventually runs away to live with them。“He wore their feathers and sat on their eggs and shared their food and spoke their language”（ST 304）。Reading such plots in a novel that plays with the notions of fate and free will and deplores the human indifference to one another， we cannot help but wonder their relevance to the main themes and the roles they play。
In Slaughterhouse-Five， the narrator refers three times to the horses that draw the wagon on which Billy Pilgrim basks in the sun after the firebombing of Dresden and enjoys his happiest time in life。 In the lastand most detailed deion， the narrator focuses on a German couple lamenting on the pitiable conditions of the horses， their mouths bleeding and their hooves broken for lack of water and rest。The German couple's gentle criticism awakens Billy and arouses his sense of shame and pity。For the frst time in his unhappy life， Billy Pilgrim cries。It seems that the sight of the horses'sufferings stirs the soft part of his heart that all the atrocity he has undergone has hardened。One more example：at the very end of the novel， the narrator presents us a picture of Dresden turned into a lifeless moon by the frebombing。Amidst the chaos and deadly silence， we hear a bird asking，“Poo-tee-weet？”（SF 215）The episode turns out to be a signature of Vonnegut's art—in a couple of other novels， a bird is asking the same question。But what does he mean？What questions is the bird asking？Although it sounds nonsensical， the bird might be Vonnegut's persona inviting us to think over profound questions about humanity。
In Jailbird， a novel about the political corruption of government and the conflicts between labor and capital， the narrator gives a very detailed portrayal of a dog， a German shepherd， who persistently attacks automobiles passing by the country road。 The dog can hardly stand up on his hind legs as a result of being hit too often by the cars。In the same novel， the narrator gives tender deions of myriads of bright yellow little birds that dwell within the crown of the Chrysler Building。They fit within the spacious dome and“are capable of expressing heartbreak”（J 157）。In Cat's Cradle， after almost all living things are killed and everything liquid frozen as a consequence of the accidental spread of ice-nine， a mischievous invention of the professor who invented the atomic bomb， the ants are among the few survivors。“They did it by forming with their bodies tight balls around grains of ice-nine。They would generate enough heat at the center to kill half their number and produce one bead of dew。The dew was drinkable。The corpses were edible”（CC 186）。