Question

What is the connotative meaning of this line from Kurt Vonnegut's "Report on the Barnhouse Effect"?

General Barker bustled about the house like a woman preparing Thanksgiving dinner for twenty.

Answer 1

General Barker was conducting an experiment and was in a hurry to get everything ready for his experiment.

• General Barker does not necessarily make Thanksgiving dinner for twenty people, in the original paragraph. He undertakes a job just as challenging though.
• A Thanksgiving dinner typically has many dishes and involves a lot of time, planning and elements.
• The analogy is intended to illustrate how the project of General Barker has several different components and stuff to be ready at the right moment, and he hurries to make sure that all is ready.