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Dresden In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five

2065 Words9 Pages

The setting plays a powerful and constant reminder to the reader of the consequences of the human condition. Slaughterhouse Five, taking place around WWII involves many places, one main one being Dresden. It is seen by many as one of the greatest man made disasters in history and was oddly caused by allied forces. As horrible as it might be, Kurt Vonnegut says at the beginning of his book that “I thought, too, that [the book about Dresden] would be a masterpiece―But not many words about Dresden came from my mind then ― And not many come to mind now…” (Vonnegut 2). Having forgotten one of the most important parts of his life, it hints at how pointless war is and how something as big as Dresden can be forgotten as time goes on. Billy Pilgrim …show more content…

Even though she plays a minor role, Vonnegut uses her as another way to speak directly to the reader, vocalizing his opinions on war. In this instance she states… “You were just babies in the war—like the ones upstairs! […] But you’re not going to write it that way are you? […] You’ll pretend you’re man instead of babies…” (14). She goes on to say that war will continue because of the human tendency to glamorize war in the media. Society will continue to urge on war and the death it brings. Another, less preferred, title for Slaughterhouse Five is The Children’s Crusade. To describe the significance of this title, in Peter Reed’s essay he states that, “The obvious parallels with the rising of a modern army are that people sent to die are in both cases young, innocent, and uncomprehending. […] The “noble” intentions [They have] may bear little relation to the actual purposes or accomplishments of [War]” (Reed 12). Reed reiterates the idea that all who join the war are childish is due to the fact that they have an altered, romanticized vision of war. They are filled with a sense of nationalism that society builds up overtime and causes them to become pawns for the those who create the conflict. Connecting back to what negative effects war can have, Slaughterhouse Five indulges in the idea that the fact that wars occur creates the illusion that war is glorious in some way, inciting more war and more people unintentionally promoting

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He brings his experience from the bombing of Dresden and recalls his encounters during the tragedy. Through the subject of Billy, he describes the aftermath of man’s destructive power through the bombing, “It looked like Dresden after it was fire-bombed-like the surface of the moon” (). From this quote, he paints a true sight of war where nothing is left but dust. He relates this event to emphasize the fact that war is a place of sadness and despair and from Billy’s viewpoint he observes the hurtfulness and all the destructiveness of the world when the city of Dresden gets

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He can't clarify or even remark on the passing and pulverization he has seen in Dresden. This reinforces the thought that war can have ghastly results even on the individuals who survive the war physically and return home as Vonnegut and even Billy Pilgrim do. Billy discovers his clarification of the shelling and the passing of such a large number

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They always make up any excuse possible just avoid the war. If it is not successful and they are send off into the war they are like in slaughterhouse. Most of the soldiers when they survive the war are somehow effected by all bad they have seen. Vonnegut also describes violence in this book and there’s a lot of it. There’s just too much violence in this world and once Billy’s wife dies it’s weird.

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Kurt Vonnegut enlisted in the United States Army at the time of World War II. He was captured as a prisoner of war where he received much of his literary inspiration for Slaughterhouse-Five. The anti war theme throughout the book is touched on and also rebutted when Vonnegut states, “there would always be wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers” (Vonnegut 4). Vonnegut knows he is writing an anti war book but also is aware that wars cannot altogether be halted he is only trying to relay the horrors of war. The number of innocent victims killed by the bombing is alarming and Vonnegut keeping with his anti war theme made it a point to center his novel around the Dresden bombing which increased knowledge of what the historical city Dresden once was.

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To understand the history of past cultures, it is imperative that both sides are heard. Many novels continually showcase this new outlook on history. Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, demonstrates the New Historicism perspective with subjective accounts, reflections of the time it is written, and lack of the opposing side ’s outlook. To begin, New Historicism is showcased by subjective accounts that are apparent in developing the

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