Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr - 898 Words

In the book Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Billy Pilgrim is the main character, the protagonist of the novel. The novel is focused on the four sides of Billy. The first being his life as a WWII soldier. The second, his present, which is a very boring life as a husband, father, and optometrist in Ilium, New York. The third is his time travels from past to future, and the fourth is his life as a prisoner on the planet Trafalmadore. In the beginning of the book Billy is an optometry student when he gets drafted to the war. He is sent to fight in Luxembourg against the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge and is quickly captured by a small group of German scouts. Billy is a very weak and pathetic character who manages to get on nearly everybodys bad side. He suffers from constant nightmares, but manages to survive in places where others dont. Billy even manages to make it through one of the worst fire bombings of WWII, the Dresden firebombing. During the year of 1944 is when Bill y believes he became unstuck in time. Being so, this gives an explanation to why Billy is always so nervous and awkward because never knows what point in his life he will travel too. It seems that very unpleasant experiences trigger the time travel. After the war, Billy returns to Ilium, New York, and tries to live a normal life after his experiences in the war. As he studies to become an optometrist he gets engaged to a rather unattractive, fat, and wealthy women, Valencia. Once backShow MoreRelatedSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr Essay1391 Words   |  6 PagesSlaughterhouse-Five: Why War Should Never Happen Kurt Vonnegut Jr., a World War II veteran and author of the literary masterpiece Slaughterhouse-Five, was one of the many there to witness the destruction of the city of Dresden located in Germany, and one of the few to survive to tell the gruesome details. Most of his writing was used to encourage those with anti-war mindsets to take a stand, and to inform everyone else of the damage that is done when a nation goes to war. He uses his books to remindRead More Billy Pilgrim as a Christ Figure in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s Slaughterhouse Five3076 Words   |  13 PagesBilly Pilgrim as a Christ Figure in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s Slaughterhouse Five After reading the novel, Slaughterhouse Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., I found my self in a sense of blankness. The question I had to ask myself was, Poo-tee-weet?(Vonnegut p. 215). Yet, the answer to my question, according to Vonnegut was, So it goes(Vonnegut p.214). This in fact would be the root of my problems in trying to grasp the character of Billy Pilgrim and the life, in which he leads throughout theRead MoreSlaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Essay821 Words   |  4 PagesIn an interview on Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut states, â€Å"I worked as a miner of corpses, breaking into cellars where over a hundred thousand Hansel and Gretels were baked like gingerbread men† (â€Å"Vonnegut†). Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007), born during the Modern Age, wrote his first story in 1947, known as the Contemporary Period. The Modern Age was different from the Contemporary Period because of its focus on art while trying to connect with traditions in the world due to the ir desire to have aRead MoreKurt Vonnegut : A Hybrid Of Science Fiction And Satire1716 Words   |  7 PagesLeanne Arata English 11 Mrs. Wheeler 5/8/2016 Kurt Vonnegut The idea of making a work that does not fit into a single category of work is how Kurt Vonnegut has become such a phenomenon. 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There are many well-known American authors but very few that defined American LiteratureRead 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 tha n a pessimist†¦ he is an eternal optimist doomed to disappointment† (Clark, â€Å"Viewing Four Vonnegut NovelsRead MoreKurt Vonneguts Opinions Expressed in Player Piano, Cats Cradle, and Slaughterhouse-Five2290 Words   |  10 PagesKurt Vonnegut’s Opinions Expressed in Player Piano, Cat’s Cradle, and Slaughterhouse-Five Every so often, a person comes along and encompasses the meaning of a generation. This person will capture everything people want to say, and then word it so well that his or her name becomes legendary. The sixties was an era with many of these people, each with his or her own means of reaching the people. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., armed with a typewriter and a motive, was amongst those that defined theRead MoreKurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five Essay1311 Words   |  6 PagesI. Author- Kurt Vonnegut’s background had an endless influence upon his writing. In his early years, Vonnegut was a private in the 106th infantry division in World War II. He and five scouts were caught behind enemy lines, and then captured. They were held POWs and were beaten on various occasions. In 1945, they witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. Kept during this time in a slaughterhouse, this is part of the inspiration for Slaughterhouse-five. After being released from the SlaughterhouseRead MoreStyle Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut on Slaughterhouse Five1623 Words   |  7 Pagesbrilliant piece of literature. One example, for instance, is Kurt Vonnegut who may have been stimulated by the war, thus writing Slaughterhouse Ââ€" Five. Though one may categorize this piece as science fiction or even auto - biographical, it can also be interpreted as an anti Ââ€" war piece. Because Vonnegut is classified as a post modernist, one can take into account all the details, such as the similarities between the main character and Vonnegut, the Tralfamadorians, and the style and themes of the novelRead MoreWar is Inevitable and Death is Too1111 Words   |  5 PagesKurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five is a satire on the behaviors of man. Often characterized as an anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse-Five tries to show that war and destruction are a part of the human life cycle. Humanity is highly conflict prone; conflict resolution often manifests itself in the terms of war. Vonnegut attempts to show that war results in widespread death and destruction; therefore, war and death are inevitable. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut explores the inevitability of