The Sirens of Titan

by Kurt Vonnegut

The Sirens of Titan: Anthropomorphism 1 key example

Definition of Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie the Pooh, the Little Engine... read full definition
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie... read full definition
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous... read full definition
Chapter 8: In a Hollywood Night Club
Explanation and Analysis—The Harmoniums:

Anthropomorphism is employed in the novel to attribute human traits, such as appreciation for art, companionship, and beauty, to the harmoniums, which are the simple, translucent life forms found in the caves of Mercury.
The harmoniums are described as fundamentally basic, "brainless creatures" that subsist on the mechanical vibrations—or "song"—of Mercury. They possess only the sense of touch and communicate via incredibly monotonous telepathy. This telepathic communication is limited to just two automatic, reciprocal phrases:

They have weak powers of telepathy. The messages they are capable of transmitting and receiving are almost as monotonous as the song of Mercury. They have only two possible messages. The first is an automatic response to the second, and the second is an automatic response to the first. The first is, “Here I am, here I am, here I am.” The second is, “So glad you are, so glad you are, so glad you are.”