Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five - 1490 Words

Nicholas Morello Mrs. Simpkins English 10 4 April 2016 Vonnegut Reveals Suffering Through Billy Pilgrim Kurt Vonnegut was an American author who published a variety of works including novels, short stories, plays, and a few works of non-fiction. Kurt Vonnegut explains how war and the experiences that come with it can cause suffering to the minds of people that it affects. In his novel Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut uses his novel to focus on his anti-war stance by showcasing humanity s suffering due to war. Vonnegut reveals this suffering through Billy Pilgrim s experience with the bombing of Dresden, his development of schizophrenia, and his time-traveling experiences with the Tralfamadorians. Vonnegut reveals suffering through Billy Pilgrim’s experience of the bombing of Dresden. In warfare people make other people suffer, because of their decisions â€Å"Ultimately, Billy’s paradoxical blend of numbness and luck yield†¦ mankind’s often senseless behaviour as relates to warfare.†(McFarland) People act senseless in war, such as bombing the city of Dresden even though it was no threat. When in war people don’t think about what it is that they are destroying they are just content that they are not being harmed. Suffering can also happen in beautiful places before war and destruction has happened. â€Å"The skyline was intricate and voluptous and enchanted and absurd. It looked like a sunday school picture of Heaven to Billy Pilgrim.† (Vonnegut 148) He reveals sufferingShow MoreRelatedKurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five902 Words   |  4 Pageswould do anything to avoid memories of trauma, including inventing an alternate planet. 2. Billy, the main character in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five, experienced firsthand the trauma of war during the firebombing of Dresden. After this event, Billy created Tramfaladore, the planet where time does not exist. B. Summary 1. In Kurt Vonnegut s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, he waves a story of destruction, war, mental health, and time travel to demonstrate the effects of posttraumatic wartimeRead MoreKurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five 1901 Words   |  8 PagesKurt Vonnegut developed his view of America through a history of personal loss and trauma that was largely endured at the same time by his characters. As a child, Kurt Vonnegut lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, which he would use in many of his later novels. His father was a prominent architect, while his mother came from the family of a wealthy brewer. After the depression hit, his father lost his business and gave up, his mother became addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs. In his teen yearsRead MoreKurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five1246 Words   |  5 PagesIn Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim becomes â€Å"unstuck† in time. The question here is, why? The fact of the matter is that he does not actually begi n to time-travel. Billy â€Å"becomes unstuck† as a coping mechanism to deal with his traumatic experiences during the war. Billy attempts to reorganize his life’s events and cope with a disorder known as post traumatic stress (PTSD). â€Å"Post traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition that follows a terrifying event† (Marilyn 8)Read MoreKurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five1250 Words   |  5 PagesIrrational behavior is a huge part of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-five because Billy Pilgrim’s character and the plot line are shaped by it throughout the book. The spastic ordering of his life story and the thorough belief that he was abducted by Tralfamadorian aliens are what shape this book’s story and Billy’s way of life. Although unreasonable, his behavior can be considered justified because of the time he spent in World War II. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is common in veteransRead MoreKurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five Essay2221 Words   |  9 Pagesphrase â€Å"so it goes† is repeated 106 times in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. From â€Å"dead† champagne to the massacre at Dresden, every death in the book is seemingly equ alized with the phrase â€Å"so it goes†. The continuation of this phrase ties in with the general theme on indifference in the story. If the Tralfamadorian view of time is correct, then everyone is continuously living every moment of their life and dying is not the end. However, if Vonnegut believed in this idea, then he wouldn’t haveRead MoreAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five 1634 Words   |  7 PagesKurt Vonnegut once said, â€Å"So it goes† to describe the unavoidableness of fate. This aspect of seeing terrible things and being able to continue on would become a main theme in his novels. Vonnegut, as an author, received his essential voice by writing about his own experiences, using what would become his signature pessimistic yet humanist view. Vonnegut is described by Lindsay Clark as, â€Å"Worse than a pessimist†¦ he is an eternal optimist doomed to disappointment† (Clark, â€Å"Viewing Four Vonnegut NovelsRead MoreAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five Essay2080 Words   |  9 PagesDraft Slaughterhouse-five War is a virus, a plagues our world and has experienced since the early ages of time. Once a war is cured a new strain begins stronger and more unforgiving as the last. Humans are creatures of habit which continue the violence. Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, slaughterhouse-five, is a deliberate and well developed statement against war as expressed through the tone, rhetoric, and characters, making anti war a prominent theme through the entirety of the novel. Slaughterhouse-fiveRead MoreKurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five Essay1905 Words   |  8 PagesKurt Vonnegut reflects his life during World War II as a German prisoner through his character Billy Pilgrim in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five. While enlisted in the US Army, Vonnegut had life threatening experiences that were inspiration for his writing. Vonnegut was a young boy during the Great Depression and was raised through the hardships of the time. As a child, Vonnegut’s father worked as an architect, but during the Gr eat Depression, the building industry was brought to a halt and Vonnegut’sRead MoreAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five1134 Words   |  5 Pagesmoment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is so it goes. This quote, from Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse-five, has always stuck with me. Looking at the world through a softly tinted glass can brighten the edges. All the difficult and low stretches of life could be such a small fraction, if we would look at things from perspectives other thanRead MoreAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five 1453 Words   |  6 Pagesbut the main traits of post-modernism are embracing skepticism and overturning conventions. With this in mind, Kurt Vonnegut explores war drawing parallels from his own past experience and depicts it through his character Billy Pilgrim allowing th e reader to see the dichotomy in reality and fiction, separating his novel from the normal layout of a linear novel. Also, Slaughterhouse-Five discusses the controversial military action as a post-modern novel, as it brings many perspectives to the bombing