Engaged through Envy

So I went over to the mosaicist, watched him for a while, and then I told him, “I envy you.”
“I always knew,” he sighed, “that, if I waited long enough, somebody would come and envy me. I kept telling myself to be patient, that, sooner or later, somebody envious would come along.”

This quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, I believe is quite engaging in the fact that it can be applied to almost anyone of us. I know that with my own personal life that I would love to be recognized with a talent that is valuable to society. Maybe it is the fact that each of us does have that talent, but we do it in a way, which is not so easily recognized and wanted. For example, I play basketball, a lot of basketball. I wish that I could have been recruited or looked at by a smaller university to play for. Then again it could and was my choice to go to a smaller school and be a “walk-on.” Then and only then I might have still been playing for a school.

Looking at the broad view though, I think that Vonnegut meant to put this in as a dream for all of us to ponder. We look at the accomplishments of the scientists, whose combined knowledge created on of the most powerful weapons to the world at the time, the Atom Bomb. But looking at it more vaguely and on a broader sense he throws in a statement that makes us truly dream as I stated before. Yet it is so true. In today’s society we often try to flaunt what we are skilled at. We don’t necessarily throw it out there and are obnoxious with it, but we hint at it. This is turn, gives us hopes of trying to be noticed as someone with skills, and that someone can hopefully use us. Also we look for the ability to make money in any way.

I also think that Vonnegut might have used this to show his own idea that at one point in his life, maybe his writing career that he wanted this to happen to him. Being a writer is not a simple task. To be recognized as a great writer is an accomplishment, but many sacrifices have had to be made in order to be where you are now. Vonnegut understands the mindset of trying to achieve greatness in one’s own way. He achieved his by becoming a writer, and a successful one at that. In the end though, it is true we want someone to come along and be envious of what we can do and they can’t. We want them to smother us with praise and this gives us a sense of being great at something.
1) What is the purpose of wanting someone to envy?
2) Is there a reason or a possibility why Vonnegut put that in his book? Is he trying to show off? Make a point?
3) Through the work of Vonnegut, is he asking us to engage in something that we feel that we might be good at? Or might do well in?