I am not Vonnegut. He is not me. I did not fight in World War Two. He did not break his arm in the third grade. We are separate people, yet under the light of the literary world we are bonded together - he as an author, and I as a reader. Our relationship began in 1996 when I first read his novel Welcome to the Monkey House. Sure we had a good time, but it wasn't love. Over the past 5 years our affair has burgeoned with unbridled passion. Today, I stand completely devoted, respectful and honored to have my place with Vonnegut. I am a reader. As a lowly pre-teen with no passion for myself, let alone others, I had a shallow relationship with Kurt. We were two strangers at a party, discussing the weather while piling bite size nachos, cookies, and carrots onto our designer napkins.

I was intrigued by Vonnegut's words; I enjoyed his stories for their simplicity and their sweetness. They were my punch to wash down the dry cookies.

Kurt gave me a gift that served to form the base of our relationship. He taught that my writing mattered. His simply constructed sentences and straightforward plots gave me hope; my subject matters could be interesting also. I felt that my sentences, even though not splattered with adjectives and copious description, could be meaningful. I did not lose faith despite the low quality of my work. I knew I could get better, that there could be meaning inside of my words.

Through more schooling I did eventually betray Kurt. I became a mistress to the semicolon, a slave to the adjective. I found myself new lovers. John Steinbeck taught me description. Ayn Rand gave me long sentences with hints of sarcasm. I matured after my relationship with Kurt, but soon found myself yearning to rekindle the old flame. So I did. This was no puppy love. We exploded in passion; I read and absorbed Kurt's words as if they were written especially for me. His philosophies, his conceptions about the American culture were filled with simple truths.

In God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, the main character has a simple maxim: " God damn it, you’ve got to be kind." These eight words -- twenty-seven letters - sum up a large part of Vonnegut's humanist viewpoints. There is no moral more fundamental than human kindness. When stress rules one's life, one often acts irrationally, taking on the qualities of an irritable individual. About a month ago, I was very over-worked, over-stressed, and under-slept while finishing up a school project. Many friends with whom I conversed that week were not pleased to have had the experience. And then the phrase lurked into the tightly balled fist of my mind. “God damn it, you’ve got to be kind " I realized that this adage holds true no matter what the circumstances. Tired or not, courtesy and friendliness should be top priority. The line has stuck close to my heart; it is a picture of Kurt to carry in my wallet.

We’re married now, Kurt and I. The wild passion has tamed into deep love and respect. We stand by each other as author and reader. Vonnegut and his influences will forever be a part of me. I will be kind, I will respect my own writing, and I will dream. These I will wear as a wedding band, a symbol of permanence. We are a couple, however I have not remained completely devoted. My adjectives, my semicolons, my circumlocution are all vices; arguments vibrating through the ornately decorated walls of the white picket-fenced home. But I am not Kurt. Kurt is not me. We are each individuals, forever learning and redefining ourselves. We are simply together, author and reader.

點評：

科特.馮內古特是美國“黑色幽默”大師，活躍于上世紀七八十年代，一直被看為是后現代主義的代表人物。這篇申請文書所談的就是此作家對于申請者的影響。

1、文章結構：

結構非常清晰，首段介紹兩人關系——作家與讀者，末段總結兩人關系——追求相同又各自獨立的作家與讀者。二、三段描述初識科特的經歷，第四段描述科特在文學上對“我”的影響，第五六段轉折到思想和理念上的影響，最后一段總結。整體結果形成了一個非常完整的環。

2、文章內容：

在申請文書三類：情景型、影響型和論點型中，本文無疑是屬于影響型的文書，申請者娓娓道來，將自己深受作家影響的經歷一一展現在讀者面前，先是由作家的文字直白卻滿含道理而讓自己對寫作產生了信心，其次是截取一句話來概括作家的人文思想，結合自身實例來闡述其對自己的處事產生的影響，由文字自精神，發展開來。

3、總體點評：

總的來說，還是屬于描述自己崇拜的作家的影響，選材和文字結構上并無多大新意，但是可貴的是能把沒多大新意的文章寫的讓人有讀下去的欲望。在于作者能夠通過簡單而不失詼諧的字眼來描述，敘述流暢，并且能夠看出作者行文之間、起碼是在用句之時，深得科特影響，也不難發現蘊含其中的殷殷深情，難怪要以婚姻做比方了。

4、可借鑒要素：

申請人敘述的口吻和角度，以關系、愛等字樣形容與作家的聯系，與其他申請人的尊敬區分開來；同時行文風格明快，有深厚文學造詣的申請人不妨參考之。

譯文:

科特與我

我不是馮內古特。他也不是我。我沒有參加二戰。他也沒有在三年級的時候手腕骨折。我們是不同的兩個人，然而，在文學世界的光芒下，我們被緊緊連在了一起——他是作家，我為讀者。1996年，我讀到他的小說《歡迎來到猴子屋》時，我們的關聯就正式開始了。當然，雖然相處愉快，但那還不能叫做愛。之后的5年中，我們之間的關系伴隨著不可抑制的熱情慢慢發展起來。今天，我可以自豪地、全心全意地、滿懷光榮地宣告我與馮內古特的關系：我是一個讀者。

當我還是個小孩子的時候，總是缺乏熱情，與他人刻意保持距離，與科特也是這樣一種點頭之交。在宴會上，我們是兩個陌生人，一邊談論天氣，一邊大嚼烤干酪辣味玉米片、餅干和蘿卜，碎屑紛紛落在餐巾上。

我為馮內古特的文字深深著迷，熱愛他故事中的簡單和甜蜜，如水壓般能夠沖走干燥的餅干屑。

科特讓我明白了我作品的意義所在——這是他給我的禮物，也為我倆關系的開始打下基礎。他的作品語句簡潔，情節直白，給了我莫大希望：我開始了解即使我寫出來的作品沒有華麗的形容詞點綴、沒有繁復詳細的描寫，也可以是很有趣，很有意義的。我并不因為我作品的低質量而灰心，反而更加積極起來。

在經歷更多教育之后，我背叛了科特。我變成分號的崇拜者，形容詞的奴隸，還找到了新的情人：約翰.斯坦貝克教會我描寫，艾因.蘭德教會我暗含諷喻的長句。在我和科特的關系之后我成熟了許多，然而很快發現心中又燃起了昨日火焰，又回到了他身邊。這不再是初戀般的溫和，而是激情四溢、突飛猛進。我如饑似渴的閱讀和吸收科特的一字一句，仿佛它們都是為我而寫。他的哲學思考，他對美國文化的觀念無不浸透著最樸素的真理。

在《上帝保佑你，羅斯維特先生》中，主人公有一句很簡單的口頭禪：“去他的，你得做好人！”僅僅8個字，就足以涵蓋馮內古特人文思想的主干：再也沒有任何道德規范比人類的善心更珍貴。當重壓主宰了人的生活，人總不免作出不合理的行為，染上急躁的毛病。一個月前，我還為在了學校工程過度工作，承受巨大壓力以至失眠，頓時對周圍的人也苛刻起來。周圍的朋友都覺得這是段不堪回首的日子。就在最難過的時候，口頭禪忽然間出現在我的腦海里，“去他的，你得做好人！”是的，無論身處于何等環境下，這句話總歸是對的。不管有多么疲累，禮儀和友誼總是第一位的。這話語如此切近地貼近我的心，仿佛科特專門為我描繪的圖景。

現在，科特和我已經步入婚姻的殿堂。原先狂野的熱情已經轉換為深沉的愛與尊敬，以作家和讀者的身份，并肩而立。馮內古特的影響將永遠成為我生命中的一部分，我將會變得善良、珍惜自己的創作，并且擁有自己的夢想。我將披起婚嫁的絲帶，作為銘刻永恒的標志。我們是一對，然而我從未像現在這般獨立過。我的形容詞、分號，我婉轉曲折的陳述都是過去的壞習慣；然而透過裝飾華麗的圍墻，那越發激烈的辯論聲振蕩著沖出了白色蒺藜的的圍墻。.但我并不是科特，科特也不是我。我們是兩個不同的人，永遠在學習，永遠在重新審視自己。我們單純地聚在一起，作家，和讀者。