Welcome to the Monkey House

“Welcome to the Monkey House” is a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut that was originally published in Playboy Magazine in 1968. It was republished in a short story collection entitled Welcome to the Monkey House that same year. Set in a not-too-distant dystopian future, Vonnegut uses science fiction to darkly satirize the moral restrictions on birth control in 1968. The characters of Nancy McLuhan, a suicide hostess responsible for administering lethal injections, and Billy the Poet, a political rebel, contrast to explore the themes of Personal Freedom and Autonomy, The Purpose of Humanity, and The Ethics of Medically Assisted Suicide. Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most widely read and celebrated science fiction authors, and his works, published between 1950 and his death in 2005, are considered by many to be modern classics. His use of humor and speculative genres to comment on social and political issues are a trademark of his style.

This guide refers to the e-book edition of Welcome to the Monkey House: A Collection of Short Works, published by Random House in 2007 with a preface by Vonnegut.

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