Staying, Sane, on a Planet Dying Fast : Art and Eco-Psychology in Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions

Abstract: This essay analyzes Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions (1973) in relation to eco-psychology. First, Dwayne Hoover is diagnosed with solastalgia; second, the narrator is shown to suffer from ecological PTSD; and, lastly, the novel is considered in light of the ecological uncanny and the ecological homecoming narrative. Art is identified as the primary method by which characters manage their trauma. It is further suggested that the homecoming narrative serves a similar function to others for purposes of mental health.