"Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds.
It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes." (p. 167)
When thinking about war, what is the main cause? Many times we think about disagreements or territorial issues as the cause of war; however, the main root to all wars is money. Money motivates people to make horrible, impulsive decisions. War is one of those not well thought out decisions.
The image of a money tree is the perfect symbol for this novel. In our modern society, people basically worship money as if it provides us with oxygen. But really, money is not what keeps the world ticking. It actually causes more destruction then it prevents. I like how the "fruit" of this money tree is the diamonds. Fruit is considered the most valuable and useful part of the tree. Just as fruit, humans consider diamonds to be essential to a successful life. Vonnegut emphasizes money as the cause of war in the last sentence of the excerpt. Again, humans are dehumanized by the author stating that humans make good fertilizer. During war, ethical principles are thrown out the window. Only positive effects are emphasized while the negatives remain hidden.
I really like this post. I thought the money tree was really funny and a fantastic way to show what people will do for money, which is sad. Amen, sister.
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ReplyDeleteExcellent post, I loved it!
ReplyDeleteThis passage kinda of goes like life is now and like people just dont know how to share or understand how important life can be or crazy it can get until death can give you a second chance but sometimes you gotta really see you dont them .
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