Slaughterhouse Five and Reality Written in 1969, Slaughterhouse Five is a semi-autobiographical novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Since it was first published it has been a highly contested title. By the mid-eighties it was being banned by the Supreme Court for being “...just plain filthy.” (Paulson) The banning itself was, and still is, highly controversial. Critics pointing to sexual content, explicit language, and anti-Americanism are often themselves called prude or anti-constitution. Although it contains both sexually explicit and violent content, Slaughterhouse Five should be included in upper level high school curriculums because it provides a window into the harshness of reality and introduces students to realistic scenarios such as sex, violence, and profanity, which are ultimately beneficial for students to understand and be exposed to. Even though it contains both sexually explicit and violent content, Slaughterhouse Five should be included in upper level high school curriculums because it introduces students to realistic scenarios like sex. Often times critics of Slaughterhouse Five are quick to point out the more sexually explicit moments within the book. Realistically speaking, students above ninth or tenth grade have already gone through sex education. Kurt Vonnegut’s description of sex is very sterile and biological. "Billy made a noise like a small, rusty hinge. He had just emptied his seminal vesicles into Valencia, had contributed his share of the