Recommended: Vonnegut’s Beliefs on War
In the book SlaughterHouse-Five, the main character Billy Pilgrim, is an anti-hero who jump travels through time and past events in his mind. Billy’s definition of what is going on is that he has “come unstuck in time.” (Slaughterhouse-five 1) The looming question is if the travels that billy experiences are actually true. Could a person actually know what is going to happen before it does, or jump from one moment to the next…
World War 2 had changed life on the homefront and completely switched gender roles. As men went off to war the women had to replace their jobs and work in factories manufacturing firearms, bullets, vehicles, etc. The boys who were not old enough to go to war collected scrap material to make items for the soldiers. People even had to put a certain type of shades on their windows to stop light from being seen on the outside in fear of giving the enemy bombers a target. World War 2 even started many social justice movements to stop racism even though it was still present during the war.
This meant that women had to step up. This war changed the ideal image of the common American woman. Before the war, women were supposed to be structured as known by Historians as, “The Cult of True Womanhood.” This was the
The war what so ever has a major impact on the characters. The characters fear that they would be drafted into the war because they are of that age. Their life isn’t much enjoyable, though they try to make the best out of it, but most of their luxuries and supplies go to the war, “Oh Christ, it’s not made up, What is all this crap about no maids?”(104). The war impacts the characters mentally as well. When Leper joins the army he has a mental breakdown is discharged from the military, and when Gene goes to visit him he wasn’t the same old Leper he was, he had turned into a harsh and cruel person.
Throughout Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut intertwines reality and fiction to provide the reader with an anti-war book in a more abstract form. To achieve this abstraction, Kurt Vonnegut utilizes descriptive images, character archetypes, and various themes within the novel. By doing so, he created a unique form of literature that causes the reader to separate reality from falsehood in both their world, and in the world within Vonnegut’s mind. Vonnegut focuses a lot on the characters and their actions in “Slaughterhouse Five.”
The war had greatly impacted their lives
Stalin, the leader of the Soviets, believed that if he could make his people think that all the children were happy and were excited about their future, then they would rally behind him. The American government was trying to do the exact same thing. They believed that if the citizens of the nation thought the children were in good condition, they would think the nation is in good condition also. This competition to rear “the perfect child” was all a ploy to get the support of more people. Each of these nations claimed that if you supported them in this war, this generation of children would be able to sustain higher quality of life than ever
In the book “The boys war” the boys were affected for the worse In the book it says that a boy named Elisha Stockwell regretted running away for war and just wanted to go home but since he was in the war he couldn’t and he had to stay and fight for his side, Many other boys had the same opinion as Elisha but like said unfortunately they had to stay and fight, even though in the beginning many of the boys wanted to fight it affected them very badly. Half of these soldiers were just young boys hoping to fight for their side but they never knew it would affect them so badly after missing their families and friends so much, they felt sick not knowing if they would see their families again after the war. This was one of the effects that the war
There are many examples of how children are and were affected by war in both Dien Cai Dau and Persepolis. Many people overlook how children are effected, they mainly think of the soldiers participating. Both Yusef Komunyakaa and Marjane Satrapi express the impact that wars have on children. In Dien Cai Dau’s, “Dui Doi, Dust of Life”, Komunyakaa writes a very meaningful poem about what it’s like to be the product of relationship that happened in Vietnam.
The reality of the situation and the gore involved with war is a scary thing for children to deal with, especially when faced with the possibility that they will most likely be drafted right into it within a matter of years. As Mr. Patch-Withers stated, the war matured the boys by at least two years past their age. And lastly, the strains put on adults by the war sometimes caused them to put pressure on the children. They expect them to grow up quicker and be more mature to adult subjects, even if they expect these things subconsciously. The boys have to mature to effectively adapt to these expectations.
(u-s-history.com, The American Family in World War II) As for some teenagers, this sparked them into getting into the work force, which increased the high school dropout rate. Ironically, federal overseers disregarded bylaws that regulated children being employed. With big changes brought
People are influenced by the events that surround them. Individuals transform into a product of their environment and experiences of the time. The literature and art often reflects the time period in which it is written in, and Vonnegut’s novel is no exception. The novel takes place during World War II, but is written during the time of the Vietnam War. With the Vietnam War, came a lot of anti-war propaganda.
Men volunteered to fight in the war because they wanted to protect their own country. The entrance to the war motivated people to do anything they could to help out. Even people that did not directly fight still had an important part in the
The media strongly influenced the opinion of the people with pictures, articles, and songs protesting the war. Streets were filled with anti war protests carrying signs and speaking their minds about their disapproval of the war. Anti war activists saw returning soldiers as"baby
Storytelling has been the epitome of human expression for thousands of years. Along with musicians and artists, talented storytellers use their work to share ideas with others, often in an effort to evoke emotion or to persuade people to think similarly. Every element in a story is carefully crafted by the author in order to communicate a desired message to his or her audience. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut incorporates irony into the story to express his belief that fighting wars is illogical.
