Welcome to the Monkey House

Content Warning: The story discusses suicide and contains depictions of rape and group violence against a single person.

Through the characters of Nancy and Billy, Vonnegut explores the definition of and power associated with free will and bodily rights. In the beginning of the story, Nancy’s idea of freedom is the power she has as a suicide hostess and the value she places in her work. She takes the required birth control pills thrice daily and outwardly displays no rebellious beliefs about the governmental control in place. This is the society she is familiar with, and one she has come to respect because it protects her and others from the alternative—being objectified and harmed by “nothingheads.” Nancy begins the story dedicated to upholding the law and fulfilling her role as a hostess.

Yet, in her job, Nancy is at the mercy of her clients and holds more of a customer service role than one of authority. The rule for the parlors is that the clients can “get away with that kind of impudence. The thing was, he could leave at any time […]. Nancy’s art, and the art of every hostess, was to see that the volunteers didn’t leave, to coax, wheedle and flatter them patiently every step of the way” (35).