“Happy Birthday, 1951” is a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut and is published in 2008. It’s about an old man finding salvation after surviving the Second World War with a baby boy.
The now six-year-old boy has never been given a birthday, therefore they begin talking about when the boy wants to have this, and he chooses the day after because of the rain on the current day.
The following day the old man gives the boy a cart as a present and tells him that he will take the boy to a peaceful place, leaving the war behind. Here the boy finds a tank by the brook, where he truly wants to go, but the old man tells him no.
Later the man wakes up finding himself alone. The boy is gone but is later found by the tank, playing in the turret, where the boy says “bang” and ends with him getting the old man.
B. 2.
“Today can be your birthday, if you like it.”
Determined and caring are two words that describe the old man perfectly. He has cared about the boy his whole life and has been determined to give the boy a better childhood. In the story we don’t hear anything about his own well-being and maybe it’s because he already has lived his life and now it’s the young boy’s turn, so he’ll do just about everything to give him a great start. Also he is very understanding; in the beginning he wants the boy to pick his own birthdate, and when the boy gives the reason for picking the day after, because of the rain, the old man just indulge him.
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