Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

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Slaughterhouse Five is a historical fiction written by Kurt Vonnegut detailing his experiences during World War II through a fictional character named Billy Pilgrim. The book is written in a nonlinear fashion, taking place during the bloody World War II. Throughout the book, Billy Pilgrim continuously jumps through time between 1944 and 1967. After coming home from World War II, the narrator, Vonnegut, wanted to write a book about the destruction of Dresden. Vonnegut thought it would be easy for him to write about his experience in Dresden, as all he had to do was write a short report about what he had seen. Struggling to write his book, he turned to an old wartime buddy, Bernard V O’Hare, to see if he had anything to offer. They traveled to …show more content…

For the first two years of the war, it was mostly centered in Europe, with Germany invading and capturing more countries for their empire. The United States wanted to help the allies without being formally involved in the war. President Roosevelt was able to persuade Congress to pass the Lend and Lease Act, which allowed the United States to provide military aid to allies. The United States finally joined the war after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, killing 2,400 and wounding 1,200. Japan preemptively attacked Pearl Harbor in response to the U.S. cutting off Japan’s oil supply. Japan relied on scrap metal and oil heavily, which could cause economic issues within their nation. The Japanese viewed the United States oil cutoff as a threat to Japan's long-term objectives in the Pacific. The day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan, and two days later the United States declared war on Germany. Mainly due to Hitler, believing that the United States would be too distracted with the war in the Pacific to be an effective enemy in Europe, Germany also declared war on the United States. Germany’s last major battle in World War II was the Battle of the Bulge, which was the battle in which Billy Pilgrim was captured. By January 1, 1945, the Germans had been forced to retreat, with all allied forces …show more content…

The Japanese failed to comply with unconditional surrender, leaving the United States with no choice but to drop atomic bombs on Japan. The first bomb, Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. With no response from the Japanese government, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Japan. The second bomb, the Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki on August 8, 1945. Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender on August 15, signing the papers on September

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