Nine to Five

Although told in an oftentimes quirky and odd manner, Slaughterhouse-Five gives an intriguing perspective on World War II and the lasting effects that it had on the men who fought through it and went on to live out their lives in “normalcy”. The author, Kurt Vonnegut, uses irony, dark humor, and spontaneity to create an unorthodox depiction of the life of one of these said soldiers, Billy Pilgrim, the main character in the novel. In this light, he uses Pilgrim’s experiences in World War II to…

works like “Never Give In” and Slaughterhouse Five changed our view on war, either as a positive or a negative. Words in “I Have a Dream…” and To Kill a Mockingbird changed the course of an entirely different war. Either way, these words brought about change in…

into one novel that spans just over two-hundred pages long. Slaughterhouse-Five is a diverse, intricate work that can be looked at from a multitude of perspectives. For the purpose of this essay, we will only analyze a few of the abundant aspects of this novel. The following paragraphs will analyze the prevalent themes of war, free will, and the illusion of time within the novel. On the subject of war, Slaughterhouse-Five…

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five comments largely on the destructive nature of war. Our childlike protagonist Billy Pilgrim was essentially robbed of his innocence due to his drafting into the military. My first thoughts on this novel were about how Billy’s story extends to other soldiers and victims of war. The breaking of men and women’s’ ability to cope with the world extends far past the case of Billy. This is not just an isolated incident, it occurs much more often than most people care…

Slaughterhouse-Five is a remarkable novel written in 1969 by Kurt Vonnegut that displays the hardships of World War 2 through the experiences of the main protagonist Billy Pilgrim. It is a controversial novel that has created multiple perspectives (right and wrong) and one of those perspectives can be obtained in an article titled “Dystopian Cybernetic Environment in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse five” which is authored by three journalists Babaee, Yahya, and Sivagurunathan. The article…

The Protestant Reformation is often indicated as just the Reformation. It was the major disagreement within Western Christianity started by Martin Luther. Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses in hopes of just starting a debate between the church, but ended up setting the religious world aflame. In his document, he started by criticizing the selling of indulgence, demanding that the pope had no authority over purgatory and that the Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no foundation in…

Nuremberg perfectly exemplifies the ideal Protestant city because it had an aristocratic ruling class, it had widespread support from prominent public figures such as artists and authors, it had humanist support, and most locals also favored the idea of citywide religious reform (Dixon 107). In other words, it was similar in structure to Germany as a whole, so it was the epitome of what the model Reformation city should be. This chapter in The Reformation in Germany aligns perfectly with the…

Poo-tee-weet The most senseless words can have the greatest impact. Throughout Slaughterhouse Five the novel is portrayed as anti-war. I have re-read the ending to this book multiple times in hopes of figuring out the real meaning behind these bird’s chirps. As I began to dig deep thinking about motifs and themes that are common surrounding this book, I realized these chirps have a holistic connection. The art of speech is unique. If you look deeply into it, it comes down to human beings…

“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…