Thursday, January 9, 2020

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Essay - 1288 Words

Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five depicted that war is not going to be ever justified because innocent lives are always compromised. The text has three themes: the destructiveness of war, the illusion of free will and inevitable death. Destructiveness of War For the setting of the story, Dresden was juxtaposed Trafalmador. The former was hell on Earth and the latter, heaven. After Dresden was bombed and the soldiers emerge out of a slaughterhouse, Dresden was devastated. According to Vonnegut, it was clear that the intention was to kill everyone in Dresden. The civilians were supposed to all end up dying or the design will be considered at flaw. The total number of people who died in Dresden was 135,000, which is double the†¦show more content†¦However, there is a reason for this, which the author provided. In the first chapter, Vonnegut writes, It is so jumbled and jangled, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre (Vonnegut 19). Vonnegut is so overwhelmed by the horrors of war that he doubts his ability to write about them (Slaughterhouse 265). Later in the book, even Vonnegut included himself as a character of the book because he cannot separate himself for his experiences of war horrors. Now Billy a nd the rest were being marched into the ruins by their guards. I was there. OHare was there. Wee had spent the past two nights in the blind innkeepers stable. Authorities had found us there (Vonnegut 181). This shift in tense showed that the author is not merely telling the story of Billy Pilgrims, but Vonneguts as well (Harris 274). As one critic explains, Billy thus becomes a dual persona, a mask not only for Vonnegut-as-character, but for Vonnegut the author as well. Vonnegut has removed himself at least twice from the painful Dresden experience (Harris 274). By narrating the story, Vonnegut addresses and comes to terms with his own horrific war experiences. To depict the horrors of war, Vonnegut made use of a straightforward style as well as black humor to show the absurdity of war. By using this straightforward style, Vonnegut pushed his readers to see war for what it is, with no embellishments or romanticism.Show MoreRelatedSlaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut534 Words   |  2 PagesSome people may think the novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is a failure. In fact, Kurt Vonnegut himself calls it a failure. A lot of people disagree with that, many think that Slaughterhouse Five is one of Vonneguts best novels. They say it is the most successful book they have ever read, just for reasons of the author himself. From him being bluntly honest, to his great wit. 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