Bibliograph

2 B R 0 2 B

Type

Label

2 B R 0 2 B

Language

eng

resource.accompanyingMatter

technical information on music

Form of composition

not applicable

Format of music

not applicable

Literary text for sound recordings

fiction

Main title

2 B R 0 2 B

Medium

electronic resource

Summary

2 B R 0 2 B' is a short story by renowned science fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut. The title is pronounced as "2 B R naught 2 B"; referencing to the famous phrase "to be; or not to be" from William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. In this story; the title refers to the telephone number one dials to schedule an assisted suicide with the Federal Bureau of Termination. The setting is a society in which aging has been cured; individuals have indefinite lifespans; and population control is used to limit the population of the United States to forty million. This is maintained through a combination of infanticide and government-assisted suicide. In short; in order for someone to be born; someone must first volunteer to die. As a result; births are few and far between; and deaths occur primarily by accident

Target audience

adult

Transposition and arrangement

not applicable

resource.variantTitle

2BR02B2BRO2BTo be or naught to be

Contributor

Creator