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Kurt Vonnegut's Literary Analysis

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“Why don’t you write an anti-glacier book instead? What he meant, of course, was that there would always be wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers. I believe that too.” (Vonnegut 3). Kurt Vonnegut ironically wrote this in his book Slaughterhouse-Five, which is an admired antiwar book. Vonnegut’s satiric writing revolutionized both America and it’s literature with his way of transforming science fiction, becoming a voice against war, and bringing light to dark subjects.
Vonnegut was born to a wealthy family on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The riches of his family disappeared a few years into Kurt’s life when the great depression hit. His father lost his job and his mother became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which …show more content…

Therefore, this book articulated Vonnegut’s opinion on the war and became very popular because many people had the same opinion. The book gave the people revolting war a voice. Using his themes against war and a sarcastic tone, Slaughterhouse-Five, shows the foolish and destructive ways of war, communicating that millions of people died in the holocaust for no good reason. Many people also thought that there was no good reason for the Vietnam War either. The difference between the two wars was, in many minds, that this time the US was the one unjustly creating war. Consequently, many US citizens were against their government’s choices and were not the ones saying, “and so it goes” anymore and decided to instead say “there is a way to stop it now.” Meaning that they weren’t on a helpless side and their voice must be heard, leading them to speak against their …show more content…

"ABOUT KURT VONNEGUT." Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
English, Sandy. "Obituary: Kurt Vonnegut, Satirist and Pessimist." World Socialist Web Site. N.p., 27 Apr. 2007. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
"Kurt Vonnegut Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
Marth, A.R. "Essay the Satirical Writing of Kurt Vonnegut." By A.R. Marth. Humanities 360, 12 Apr. 2007. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Slaughterhouse-Five Theme of Warfare." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
Smith, Dinitia. "Kurt Vonnegut, Writer of Classics of the American Counterculture, Dies at 84." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2007. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
Temple, Emily. "So It Goes: Our 20 Favorite Vonnegut-isms." Flavorwire. Flavorwire, 8 Nov. 2011. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. N.p.: n.p., n.d.

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