What defines a leader? Is it someone who stands out within a crowd? Is it a person with the ability to lead? Is it someone who goes above and beyond to provide leadership? William Golding’s character, Jack Merridew, from the novel Lord of the Flies, would use none of these definitions to define a leader. In his eyes, a leader is someone with control and power over a group of people. Based on events thus far in the novel, it is obvious that Jack will emerge as the leader due to his constant…
In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut seems to warn individuals about the dangers of becoming like those characters who seem so far from reality; however, the control of government to preserve equality and politically correct self-esteem often stifles an individual’s creativity which further creates identity struggles as people attempt to balance their need to be a part of a community with their need to be self-aware. In both HB and Today’s society, people would find out that the government is…
The way in which Slaughterhouse-Five was written helps to emphasize the importance of life and significance ofdeath. Kurt Vonnegut uses a mix of social satire, black humor, autobiography and moral philosophy to explain a powerful antiwar message (Vonnegut and Ludwig). Through the characterization of Billy Pilgram and his experiences in World War II, Vonnegut uses his own background from the firebombing of Dresden, Germany to explore the psychological effects of war on the average soldier in…
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was an American writer whose career lasted 50 years and was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1922. Vonnegut has written many novels, short stories, plays, and even a few works of non-fiction. One of the major influences on his writing, is due to his war experiences during World War II. During the time that he attended Cornell University, he enlisted and left before graduating. In the war, Vonnegut was captured by German forces and sent to Dresden, where he survived bombing…
“Harrison Bergeron” is a prophetic short story written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The short story is set in the year 2081, a time where everyone is equal due to the 211th, 212th and 213th Amendment. People are handicapped so that no person is superior to another person. I feel that Vonnegut Jr. is giving a warning to the current society about the disadvantages of making everyone equal. The school systems of today’s society are already advancing into this direction with accommodations to students…
Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach 283 pages Characters: Felton is a top recruit in the nation for football. Felton’s little brother’s name is Andrew and his dreams of being a pianist have been crushed by Felton. Felton’s old friend Gus is kind of weird but he is still friends with Felton even though Felton is an athlete. Background: Felton and Andrews’s dad killed himself in their garage. Their mom became wacko after that and she needed some help. Felton grew up being picked on, he was small,…
What would happen if we all were the same? If everyone you knew wore the same clothes, had their hair done the same way, ate the same food, had the same size family, had the same looking house, read the same books, et cetera. Nobody would be different, individuality would be frowned upon, and you could get killed for breaking one of the hundreds of rules. This is the society in the book The Giver written by Lois Lowry. Symbols such as mirrors and eyes, sunshine, and color help demonstrate the…
“Slaughterhouse 5” by Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most complex and intriguing novels I have ever read, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I also appreciated the fact that we analyzed this book in class, although this is a book that I feel would be hard to understand unless analyzed from the point of view of the author. This is also a very difficult book to summarize, considering the fact that it is not written in any type of chronological order. That being said, the lack of an order of events…
The role of free will in Slaughterhouse Five Throughout the novel, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut a recurring theme among the Tralmfaldorians and Billy Pilgrim is the belief of free will being nonexistent, alternatively our lives are already prearranged for us, and there's no room to alter our destiny. The Tralmfaldorians concept about life is everything is happening at once, there is no beginning of time nor end of time life is not a continuous path. On the contrary, life is rather…
What if everybody was accepted? What if someone did not have to pretend to be somebody they are not, just to try and fit in? Authors Ursula K. Le Guin, William J Brennan and director Bill Brummel. All of them created a short story or a documentary about acceptance and how not all things get accepted right away. People thrive to be a part of something, and without acceptance you couldn't be a part of it. Imagine not being able to be on a sports team, theatre or some club at school, because you…