Before becoming an author, Kurt Vonnegut enlisted in the U.S Army. During his time in service, German soldiers captured and kept him as a prisoner of war. While he was held in Dresden, Vonnegut saw first-hand the devastation the bombings and the war caused. Later in his life, he wrote one of his most famous novels, an anti-war book titled, Slaughterhouse Five, to illustrate the reality of war. But, Slaughterhouse Five lacks relevance to today based on the dissimilar mindset and war experience of Kurt Vonnegut in 1969.
While writing his novel, Kurt Vonnegut had a different mindset than what is held by most Americans today when discussing the topic of war. Slaughterhouse Five was published in 1969, during the period of time when the prevention of war and the fear of a third world war were very common in
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In his novel, Vonnegut’s mindset of war prevention was seen in his depiction of its unglamourous reality. He illustrates how unprepared that soldiers were by describing his main character, Billy, as having “no helmet, no overcoat, no weapon, and no boots” (Vonnegut 41), and often makes Billy the disliked outsider of any group he is with, with the point of creating a character that is unable to be idolized or looked up to. Today in 2017, the most common mindset towards war is the focus on preparation for retaliation. In an answer to North Korea’s recent Hydrogen Bomb tests, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned that “any threat to the United States or its territory, including Guam or our allies, will be met with a massive military response”. This statement is a direct threat of war against North Korea, without any option for a peaceful compromise. Although Donald Trump did tweet that the US is considering ending trade with North Korean allies, such as China, the “economic