Basic Training

"Basic Training" is an early Vonnegut novella written in 1950 but unpublished until 2012 when it was made available for download as a Kindle Single and included in the posthumous collection We Are What We Pretend to Be. It was originally intended to be sold under the pseudonym "Mark Harvey" while Vonnegut was still working for General Electric. Despite being submitted to periodicals such as McCall's and The Saturday Evening Post, it was never accepted for publication.

Plot Summary

Haley Brandon, a sixteen year old from New York City whose adoptive parents have recently died in a car accident, is sent to live on Ardennes Farm in the Midwest owned by his mother's brother William Cooley. He is referred to by everyone in the area, including his three daughters, as "The General" due to his emphasis on organization, structure, and obedience. Since the death of their mother during the Second World War, Annie, the oldest daughter in her mid-twenties and most devoted to The General, serves as a surrogate mother for the household which includes frivolous 17 year old Kitty and 16 year old Hope, with whom Haley is immediately smitten. Haley, who has already graduated from high school and is recognized for his skills as a pianist, is hoping to attend the Conservatory in Chicago to study music.

Arriving at the farm, Haley meets his cousins. He learns that he will mostly be working with Mr. Banghart, a farmhand with a beautiful tenor voice who frequently talks to himself about avenging everyone who's wronged him in life. Annie calls Banghart "nuts" and further warns Haley never to touch The General's prize possession: a unique car formerly owned by a German general. Work assignments and daily schedules are posted on a bulletin board in the sunroom. While sitting with Hope, The General rides up with the farm's two horses, Caesar and Delores. Because they ran off last week, trampling a vegetable garden, The General is now using "some new bits that look like bicycle chains with sawteeth along one edge" to force them into obedience. Hope runs out and releases the horses, leading The General to discipline her in front of Haley, to which she responds indifferently. While The General seems open to Haley eventually attending the Conservatory, he also makes it clear that too much emphasis on education rather than practical work makes a person "soft" and "one-sided".

Haley is awoken at five in the morning for his first day of work. At breakfast there is clearly tension between The General and Hope. Kitty is still asleep, having got home at three in the morning after a going out with Roy Flemming, whom both The General and Annie dislike. Haley meets Banghart and asks him to sing, only to be stopped by The General, leading Banghart to see The General as against him as well. After a long day of loading hay bales, it's clear to everyone that Haley is not physically ready for much farm labor, eliciting both laughter and sympathy from Hope. At one point, Haley nearly faints from exertion. When helped up by Banghart, he whispers that "one day we'll take care of that old devil". During the lunch break, The General and Kitty fight about Roy. After work, Hope and Banghart show Haley a secret room they've constructed hidden by stacks of hay bales. While there, Banghart shows him a large hunting knife. Although Hope appears nonchalant, Haley is nervous and wishes to leave. When Banghart drops the flashlight, plunging the room into darkness, Haley panics and runs out, painfully knocking Hope aside. Realizing with shame that he's left her alone, he returns with a hammer only to find the two calming exiting the room.

During a Saturday afternoon set aside for "recreation and cleanup", The General casually and with amusement mentions that Banghart had threatened him that morning. When Haley asks why The General doesn't fire him, he dismisses him, saying he can control Banghart. Earlier at lunch, Roy arrived on his motorcycle to propose marriage to Kitty, only to be thrown out by The General. Hope excitedly tells Haley that she's learned that Kitty and Roy are going to elope and that they'll need his help to do it. Initially reluctant, Haley changes his mind for fear of disappointing Hope. That night, however, Kitty and Roy take a long time to leave since Kitty has packed far too much baggage to take on a motorcycle. Because of this, Annie and The General awake and discover what's happened with Haley and Hope's assistance. The General phones the police and then informs the two that as punishment, Hope will be sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire so she can "be watched carefully and kept in line" while Haley will continue to work on the farm indefinitely rather than be sent to the Conservatory. Despite their protest, The General replies that he has only made this decision because of his fondness for them and they must both come to realize that they are "too soft and spoiled" and have made a decision that harmed not only the family, but Kitty herself.

Haley and Banghart set out with the horses early one Sunday morning while the rest of the farm sleeps to move hay bales into the shelter before an approaching storm. Banghart continues to play with his knife while talking of "a great day coming" when he'll get revenge on his enemies while Haley bemoans losing the only possibility that brought hope to his life: attending the Conservatory. Wanting to save time, Banghart insists they overload the wagon, saying he's done so before. Nearing the house, the stacked bales collapse and the horses run wild, the wagon smashes into The General's German car, damaging it horribly. Assuming he'll be fired, Banghart casually leaves the scene and a panicked Haley follows. The two manage to hitchhike a ride to Chicago and are directed by a policemen to a local mission for food and shelter. Banghart, who's mutterings are becoming more intense and violent, briefly attacks Haley before realizing who he is. They arrive at the mission where a young man attempts to lead a listless crowd in devotional singing. Soothed, Banghart sings well and proudly, wishing to extend the service further. Annoyed and wanting to eat, a youth in a battered army uniform tells Banghart to shut up. Enraged, Banthart attacks the youth, whose friends come to defend him, leading to a fight in which Haley is knocked out. Coming to, he see Banghart's knife in the youth's chest and learns from a policemen that Banghart left the mission yelling that The General would be next.

A state trooper returns Haley to the farm and an officer is left behind in case Banghart returns, although The General has equipped himself with "enough guns for a regiment". Kitty, who was also brought back by the police, makes a show of her indignation, although its clear her time with Roy wasn't all she'd hoped it would be. Hope attempts to get The General to change his mind about sending her to boarding school, but he refuses. Weeks pass, the police guard leaves the farm, and The General returns his guns to storage except a shotgun near the backdoor and a revolver he personally carries. During a game of checkers, Haley declares his love for Hope, but she attempts to politely tell him that they're too young to think like that. Frustrated, Haley sweeps the pieces off the checkerboard and Hope tells him she can't love him because she thinks of him as a baby since he always acts like one. Sullen and shamed, Haley retreats to the hay loft where Hope finds him and attempts to apologize. Banghart, who has been in hiding the secret room among the hay bales, chases the two and they flee into the house where Annie and The General, armed with the pistol, are waiting for him. However, Banghart comes in the back and grabs the shotgun, saying he's here to "settle up" with The General. Bravely, Haley stands between the two and grabs the shotgun as Banghart fires, causing him to miss.

The next morning a newly respectful Annie wakes Haley. The General has allowed all the family members to sleep late until 8am. Banghart was shot in the leg by police while attempting to flee and was arrested. At breakfast, The General is awkward and stiff, not mentioning the events of the previous night which disappoints Haley. Kitty is still asleep, having been out until three in the morning with Dave, the state trooper who was guarding the farm. After a brief remark that he was "[v]ery grateful" to Haley, The General leaves and begins typing in the sunroom. After a few minutes, he says it's time to get back to work and suggests Haley check the bulletin board. Resentfully, he does so, only to find it cleared of all paper except one, in which The General, saying it's somehow easier to type the message than speak it out loud, expresses his gratitude and admiration for Haley saving his life and that the whole family must work to make him feel welcome and happy. The General approaches and says that Haley can still study piano at the Conservatory if he wishes, using the money set aside to send Hope to boarding school. The General wants to keep her where he can watch over her and that sending Haley away will keep the two away from each other, at least until Haley is a bit older.

Background

Vonnegut's childhood friend Majie Failey told his daughter Nanette that Vonnegut had spent many summers on Rainbow Farm near Indianapolis. The character of The General was based on a cousin of Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. who had served as captain in the Rainbow Division during the First World War and "ran his family and farm in the military fashion". Vonnegut was in love with Mary, one of the captain's daughters who wasn't allowed to visit the city, so he would bicycle to the farm on weekends to do chores just to be near her, despite his fear of his father's cousin.

Nanette Vonnegut surmises that Roy Flemming—the "red-haired, greed-eyed boy", although he is described in the novella itself as having "childish blue eyes"—is based on Ben Hitz, who was Vonnegut's best man at his wedding to Jane Marie Cox and to whom he would later dedicate the novel Jailbird. She further states that "the guy in the polished boots and military garb had to be Dad's cousin Sonny Mueller". It is not entirely clear which character this refers to, but Roy Flemming is likewise described as wearing "gleaming riding boots" and a "crushed and twisted Army officer's hat".