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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is an anti-war novel that should be read in a person’s lifetime.
The background information of this book plays a big role in the effect it has on readers. Vonnegut wrote this novel on account of his own personal experience in World War II. Like Billy Pilgrim, the main character and protagonist of his book, Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany. He was found, captured and forced to find, burn, and bury dead bodies. He mentions most of the same events in the book from what he went through in his own life. In the beginning, Vonnegut writes, “All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true” (1). He changed some parts to make it fiction. This makes it personal enough. However, the background information is not all that makes the book stick out.
The plot gives the book meaning and is one of the reasons why a person would want to read it. It starts out with Billy Pilgrim and how he is born and raised in Illium, New York. He goes to the Illium School of Optometry and is then drafted into World War II. From there, he is sent into the Battle of Belgium and is captured by Germany. Here is where he experiences time travel and goes back and forth between different periods of his life. He gets engaged to Valencia Marble and is introduced to his favorite author, Kilgore Trout. He has a daughter with Valencia. The night after his daughter’s wedding, he is abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Tralfamadore. Vonnegut explains, “He was taken to Tralfamadore, where he was displayed naked in a zoo, he said,” (32). He is talking about Billy here and how Billy describes the planet to which he was taken. Some people blame it on the war and say he is crazy. Billy ends the book by saying he knows when he will die and how. The plot is not the only part of the book that kept me interested.
Vonnegut uses a few poetic devices to hold the reader’s attention. His repetition of the phrases “So it goes” and “And so on” show the reader that these are important. The author says, “So it goes” after every line written about a person or object that is dead or dying. An example of this is, “The regimental chaplain’s assistant had been killed in action. So it goes,” (40). This repetition of “so it goes” shows the reader that death is inevitable and cannot be avoided. Whether a person is rich or poor, fat or skinny, that person cannot escape death for any reason. While Vonnegut’s repetition of the phrase “And so on” is more vague, it is still important. Vonnegut tells the reader, “He told them about his father’s collection of guns and swords and torture instruments and leg irons and so on,” (45). Though we may not know why this phrase is important or repeated, it makes the reader want to keep reading to try and find out why the author uses it in context. The third person point-of-view is another poetic device that Vonnegut uses in his novel. He explains, “It made Weary sick to be ditched,” (44). Though he is not talking about Billy Pilgrim, writing the novel in omniscient third person gives the reader a different perspective of what is happening from another character. This helps the reader understand how the war can affect people differently and it depends on the circumstances.
Any person can enjoy Slaughterhouse-Five, whether they are interested in the war or having to do with war or not. This book makes the reader want to keep reading because they do not know what is going to happen next. The author keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. It is hard to understand how a person would feel after being in a war such as World War II and having those experiences, and this book makes the reader want to understand. A lot of what Vonnegut talks about is hard to grasp because not many people experience the war or remember what they have seen or done. The book is interesting because it is not like other anti-war novels in this sense.
Kurt Vonnegut uses a variety of different ways to hold the reader’s attention. It is a book that should be read, as long as the reader has an open mind.
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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
michelle09, May 3, 2009
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is an anti-war novel that should be read in a person’s lifetime.The background information of this book plays a big role in the effect it has on readers. Vonnegut wrote this novel on account of his own personal experience in World War II. Like Billy Pilgrim, the main character and protagonist of his book, Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany. He was found, captured and forced to find, burn, and bury dead bodies. He mentions most of the same events in the book from what he went through in his own life. In the beginning, Vonnegut writes, “All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true” (1). He changed some parts to make it fiction. This makes it personal enough. However, the background information is not all that makes the book stick out.
The plot gives the book meaning and is one of the reasons why a person would want to read it. It starts out with Billy Pilgrim and how he is born and raised in Illium, New York. He goes to the Illium School of Optometry and is then drafted into World War II. From there, he is sent into the Battle of Belgium and is captured by Germany. Here is where he experiences time travel and goes back and forth between different periods of his life. He gets engaged to Valencia Marble and is introduced to his favorite author, Kilgore Trout. He has a daughter with Valencia. The night after his daughter’s wedding, he is abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Tralfamadore. Vonnegut explains, “He was taken to Tralfamadore, where he was displayed naked in a zoo, he said,” (32). He is talking about Billy here and how Billy describes the planet to which he was taken. Some people blame it on the war and say he is crazy. Billy ends the book by saying he knows when he will die and how. The plot is not the only part of the book that kept me interested.
Vonnegut uses a few poetic devices to hold the reader’s attention. His repetition of the phrases “So it goes” and “And so on” show the reader that these are important. The author says, “So it goes” after every line written about a person or object that is dead or dying. An example of this is, “The regimental chaplain’s assistant had been killed in action. So it goes,” (40). This repetition of “so it goes” shows the reader that death is inevitable and cannot be avoided. Whether a person is rich or poor, fat or skinny, that person cannot escape death for any reason. While Vonnegut’s repetition of the phrase “And so on” is more vague, it is still important. Vonnegut tells the reader, “He told them about his father’s collection of guns and swords and torture instruments and leg irons and so on,” (45). Though we may not know why this phrase is important or repeated, it makes the reader want to keep reading to try and find out why the author uses it in context. The third person point-of-view is another poetic device that Vonnegut uses in his novel. He explains, “It made Weary sick to be ditched,” (44). Though he is not talking about Billy Pilgrim, writing the novel in omniscient third person gives the reader a different perspective of what is happening from another character. This helps the reader understand how the war can affect people differently and it depends on the circumstances.
Any person can enjoy Slaughterhouse-Five, whether they are interested in the war or having to do with war or not. This book makes the reader want to keep reading because they do not know what is going to happen next. The author keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. It is hard to understand how a person would feel after being in a war such as World War II and having those experiences, and this book makes the reader want to understand. A lot of what Vonnegut talks about is hard to grasp because not many people experience the war or remember what they have seen or done. The book is interesting because it is not like other anti-war novels in this sense.
Kurt Vonnegut uses a variety of different ways to hold the reader’s attention. It is a book that should be read, as long as the reader has an open mind.
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)