abstract:Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized version of author Theodore Sturgeon (Vonnegut's colleague in the genre of science fiction—Vonnegut was amused by the notion of a person with the name of a fish, Sturgeon, hence TroutInterview with Vonnegut "I think it's funny when someone is named after a fish"), although Trout's consistent presence in Vonnegut's works has also led critics to view him as the author's own alter ego.