Five Families

“How nice – to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive” (Vonnegut 50). In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut introduces the genuine danger war implements on the innocent minds of soldiers by introducing Billy Pilgrim as a prisoner and Dresden bombing survivor. Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war novel appropriates around a science fiction theme where Billy Pilgrim becomes “unstuck” in time. Throughout the novel, Billy expresses his ability to time travel throughout different moments of…

The novels Heart of Darkness and Slaughterhouse Five may at first appear to have no similarities, but with further observation, it can be seen they share some similar aspects. Although the concept of fate and free will appear in both Heart of Darkness and Slaughterhouse Five, Conrad uses it in such a way where it is questionable that Marlow’s descent into madness in the heart of darkness could have been avoided, whereas Vonnegut claims there is no such thing as free will and Billy Pilgrim’s…

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kazuo Ishiguro and Kurt Vonnegut depict characters who lack stable identities, and feel lost. In Never Let Me Go, the Hailsham students are clones who have been deprived of the ability to pick their own futures, because they have been bred to become organ donors from birth. Without the freedom to discover themselves, they become confused about their own identities and look for clues, in their “possibles,” as to who they may be. Similarly, in Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy…

The European Age Of Exploration There are two era’s which led to a great deal of change in the world, these two ages are known as the Age Of Exploration, and the Protestant Reformation. If someone were to ask which age was more important it would be a tough question to answer, however many people believe that the Age Of Exploration had a greater significance than the protestant reformation. A few reasons the Age Of Exploration is considered to have a greater impact than the Protestant…

Imagine being a member of the Catholic Church in the early 1500’s and witnessing the corruption that occurred. A religious man named Martin Luther lived through the crookedness of the Church and wrote about it to spread awareness throughout Europe. His work inspired others to take action in the Church. These actions caused what we know today as the Protestant Reformation. So, who really was Martin Luther and why was he so important to the start of the Protestant Reformation? To understand what…

Before Martin Luther posted his 95th thesis on a church door in Worms, Germany so as to publicly air his grievances against the Church, another prominent figure also criticized the abuses of the Church. This man was no clergyman or ruler; he was a prominent literary figure of his time. This man was Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in part, deals greatly with the abuses and scandalous behaviors of authority figures in the Catholic Church. Before Luther and before changes were made,…

and beliefs in a way many others couldn 't do as effectively at the time. Martin Luther had such strong religious views and witnessed corruptions, such as those of John Tetzel led to such a strong opposition to indulgences, that he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, which would spark the Reformation. Martin Luther was a German priest during…

This is exemplified through Manders’ misconstrued perception of the ideal family structure. This is displayed through Oswald’s and Manders’ conflicting views upon the acceptance of unmarried couples who live under the same roof, as demonstrated through the subtext of this scene displaying their disagreement. In contrast to Manders…

The Protestant Reformation occurred in the 16th century, starting in 1517 and ending in 1648. The Protestant Reformation was initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Its religious aspects were added to by ambitious political rulers who wanted to extend their power and control at the expense of the church. The most dramatic of the events that occurred during the Protestant Reformation took place in Germany, although the Protestant Reformation swept…

In the article Simply, Chamorro: Telling Tales of Demise and Survival in Guam by Vicente M Diaz, he narrates the history of Guam through various tales. The tales describe the culture of Guam, narrates how Guam is before and after the war. Furthermore, they also recount how the war erased Guam’s culture. Specifically, the tales indicate that this drastic change in Guam’s culture was caused by American capitalistic and military oriented perspectives, and cultural assimilation. This is significant…