Throughout any war, a feeling of isolation can often be crippling to those involved. However, the feeling of detachment from the world around you can be felt in a physical sense and in a societal sense. Physically, being held captive in war is an obvious form of isolation. On the other hand, a personal feeling of isolation is felt when an individual differs from the society surrounding them. Both aspects of confinement is found through anti-war novels Slaughterhouse Five, Catch-22, and The Things They Carried.
The significance in existing in state of being physically isolated from the surrounding world, plays a clear role in the absurdity of the world. The nonlinear structure of the novels Slaughterhouse Five, Catch-22, and The Things They …show more content…
The nonlinear structure of the novels Slaughterhouse Five, Catch-22, and The Things They Carried shows the importance of this through hard-to-follow structures. As an example, ”She [Billy’s mother] made him [Billy] feel embarrassed and ungrateful and weak because she had gone to so much trouble to give him life, and to keep that life going, and Billy didn't really like life at all (Vonnegut 212). Although Billy i quite literally confined in a mental hospital, the feeling of embarrassment is far more isolating. The fact that he is so unhappy and displeased with his life that he feels guilty, shows the great effect the war has had on Billy as an individual. The puzzling notion that Billy is letting his mother down by being unhappy is a clear demonstration of the absurdity of the world, especially in regards to war. Moreover, isolation as a group, as found in Catch-22, recognizes the absurdity of the world. As an example, “We used to ostracize everyone, even each other.” (Heller 316). The fact that the group is expelling one another, in a time when they should in fact be sticking together, shows the importance of the foolishness of war. No explanation can be given for why they do this, it just is which encoompasses the entire purpose of the
The significance in existing in state of being physically isolated from the surrounding world, plays a clear role in the absurdity of the world. The nonlinear structure of the novels Slaughterhouse Five, Catch-22, and The Things They …show more content…
The nonlinear structure of the novels Slaughterhouse Five, Catch-22, and The Things They Carried shows the importance of this through hard-to-follow structures. As an example, ”She [Billy’s mother] made him [Billy] feel embarrassed and ungrateful and weak because she had gone to so much trouble to give him life, and to keep that life going, and Billy didn't really like life at all (Vonnegut 212). Although Billy i quite literally confined in a mental hospital, the feeling of embarrassment is far more isolating. The fact that he is so unhappy and displeased with his life that he feels guilty, shows the great effect the war has had on Billy as an individual. The puzzling notion that Billy is letting his mother down by being unhappy is a clear demonstration of the absurdity of the world, especially in regards to war. Moreover, isolation as a group, as found in Catch-22, recognizes the absurdity of the world. As an example, “We used to ostracize everyone, even each other.” (Heller 316). The fact that the group is expelling one another, in a time when they should in fact be sticking together, shows the importance of the foolishness of war. No explanation can be given for why they do this, it just is which encoompasses the entire purpose of the