“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Introduction (1966)
Sometimes misquoted as: Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Mother Night (1961)
“Pretend to be good always, and even God will be fooled.”
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
Paragraph 78 (p. 13 of Welcome to the Monkey House)
Welcome to the Monkey House (1968), "Harrison Bergeron" (1961)
On humans, interviewed by Jon Stewart, The Daily Show http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=18090&title=kurt-vonnegut/ (13 September 2005)
Various interviews
As quoted in The Observer [London] (27 December 1987)
Various interviews
“To be
the eyes
and ears
and conscience
of the Creator of the Universe,
you fool.”
Kilgore Trout's unwritten reply to the question "What is the purpose of life?"
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
"Science Fiction"; originally published in The New York Times Book Review, 5 September 1965
Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (1974)
Source: Player Piano (1952), Chapter 4 (p. 41)
Interview Public Radio International (October 2006)
Various interviews
Source: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Chapter 6 “A Deserter in Time of War” (p. 162)
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian (1999)
“He ransacked his memory like a thief going through another man’s billfold.”
Source: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Chapter 1 “Between Timid and Timbuktu” (p. 22)
Bennington College address (1970)
Introduction (1966)
Mother Night (1961)
Source: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Chapter 12 “The Gentleman from Tralfamadore” (p. 285)
“Peculiar Travel Suggestions are Dancing Lessons From God”
Cat's Cradle (1963)