Monday, April 30, 2012
Slaughterhouse-Five: Overall Reflection
I really enjoyed this book the whole way through. The frequent flashes to different points in time in Billy's memory were really entertaining for me. In addition to this, I really enjoyed the overall message the book had. It didn't have a polarizing view on war, but rather a balanced one that brought about certain aspects of it in social commentary. Vonnegut really portrayed the horrors of war in a different light that I was not used to. I really enjoyed this, even if it was revealed to me through unrealistic techniques. So overall, I would say that this and Frankenstein were my favorite works of the year. I'm glad I chose this book and am also glad to be finished with these blogs.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Happiest Moment
"Later on in life, the Tralfamadorians would advise Billy to concentrate on the happy moments of his life, and to ignore the unhappy ones- to stare only at pretty things as eternity failed to go by. If this sort of selectivity had been possible for Billy, he might have chosen as his happiest moment his sundrenched snooze in the back of the wagon." p.195
I think this quote reveals a lot about the work. The war has just ended. In this moment, Billy describes it as the happiest time in his life. He isn't doing anything but sleeping, yet he is happy. Through this, I think Vonnegut is stressing the significance of peace. Billy's attitude towards the newly discovered sense of peace contrasts the horrors of war. If doing nothing but experiencing peace can be the happiest moment in someone's life, war must then be horrible. Maybe I just looked too deeply into this quote, but I really think that is what the author is trying to convey through it. I'm interested to see whether others agree or disagree with my interpretation of Billy's description.
I think this quote reveals a lot about the work. The war has just ended. In this moment, Billy describes it as the happiest time in his life. He isn't doing anything but sleeping, yet he is happy. Through this, I think Vonnegut is stressing the significance of peace. Billy's attitude towards the newly discovered sense of peace contrasts the horrors of war. If doing nothing but experiencing peace can be the happiest moment in someone's life, war must then be horrible. Maybe I just looked too deeply into this quote, but I really think that is what the author is trying to convey through it. I'm interested to see whether others agree or disagree with my interpretation of Billy's description.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Extended Metaphor
"Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes." p.167
The quote above is an extended metaphor for war. The metaphor above is a book written by Trout which describes the nature of war. This is yet another one of Vonnegut's social commentaries that communicate the overall meaning of the work. In the metaphor, each part of the tree represents a part of the cycle between greed and war. Both are related and dependent upon each other to exist. The greedy people who kill each other for the fruit of the tree, in turn, end up fertilizing the tree to bear more fruit for more greedy humans to seek after. Vonnegut describes the nature of war through this metaphor, which I found very powerful and profound in meaning. Through it, he is able to communicate his own personal views on the origins of war and also the inhumanities that exist within it derived from greed.
The quote above is an extended metaphor for war. The metaphor above is a book written by Trout which describes the nature of war. This is yet another one of Vonnegut's social commentaries that communicate the overall meaning of the work. In the metaphor, each part of the tree represents a part of the cycle between greed and war. Both are related and dependent upon each other to exist. The greedy people who kill each other for the fruit of the tree, in turn, end up fertilizing the tree to bear more fruit for more greedy humans to seek after. Vonnegut describes the nature of war through this metaphor, which I found very powerful and profound in meaning. Through it, he is able to communicate his own personal views on the origins of war and also the inhumanities that exist within it derived from greed.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Balance
"She asked Gluck if he wasn't awfully young to be in the army. He admitted that he was. She asked Edgar Derby if he wasn't awfully old to be in the army. He said he was." p.159
I found this quote very interesting. It seems as though the author is making a direct social commentary on the war and the nature of war in general. It is apparent that Slaughterhouse-Five is written as an anti-war book. This quote above really reflects the book's nature in its comments regarding the issue with society and war. The answers Gluck and Derby give in response to the question, to me, sound like Vonnegut's protest of the way society sees war. Both men know that they don't belong in the war because they are unfit at both ends of the age spectrum. I don't think it was coincidence that Derby and Gluck both represent these age demographics. Through utilizing balance the author was able to convey the importance of the message seen in the quote above. In it, I think Vonnegut is protesting how society treats people and forces them into situations in which they don't belong. However, these men had to face the reality of society's demand and fight for their country even though they knew they were unfit to. This idea seems to be present throughout the book and adds to its overall anti-war message.
I found this quote very interesting. It seems as though the author is making a direct social commentary on the war and the nature of war in general. It is apparent that Slaughterhouse-Five is written as an anti-war book. This quote above really reflects the book's nature in its comments regarding the issue with society and war. The answers Gluck and Derby give in response to the question, to me, sound like Vonnegut's protest of the way society sees war. Both men know that they don't belong in the war because they are unfit at both ends of the age spectrum. I don't think it was coincidence that Derby and Gluck both represent these age demographics. Through utilizing balance the author was able to convey the importance of the message seen in the quote above. In it, I think Vonnegut is protesting how society treats people and forces them into situations in which they don't belong. However, these men had to face the reality of society's demand and fight for their country even though they knew they were unfit to. This idea seems to be present throughout the book and adds to its overall anti-war message.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Imagery
"He was enchanted by the architecture of the city. Merry amoretti wove garlands above windows. Roguish fauns and naked nymphs peeked down at Billy from festooned cornices. Stone monkeys frisked among scrolls and seashells and bamboo." p.150
Vonnegut uses very vivid imagery in this quote that stuck out to me. Most of the structure of the book is of simple and dull language. However, this quote reveals an upbeat and energetic description of the city of Dresden. The quote reflects Billy's attitude upon his arrival to the city. One thing that I find interesting and a little confusing is why Vonnegut described Dresden in this manner. Was this not the place of the death of 130,000 people? I don't understand why he would describe it like this unless he is using it as a paradox to contrast the horrors that took place there. It really didn't seem like this to me, so I wonder what other's think of such a vivid and happy description of the city where such horrible things took place.
Vonnegut uses very vivid imagery in this quote that stuck out to me. Most of the structure of the book is of simple and dull language. However, this quote reveals an upbeat and energetic description of the city of Dresden. The quote reflects Billy's attitude upon his arrival to the city. One thing that I find interesting and a little confusing is why Vonnegut described Dresden in this manner. Was this not the place of the death of 130,000 people? I don't understand why he would describe it like this unless he is using it as a paradox to contrast the horrors that took place there. It really didn't seem like this to me, so I wonder what other's think of such a vivid and happy description of the city where such horrible things took place.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Slaughterhouse-Five: Personal Reflection
Overall, I have really enjoyed reading this book so far. It is definitely very unique and different from the rest of the works we've read this year, or really anything I've ever read for that matter. To me, that's a good thing. Vonnegut's frequent anecdotes and rapid transitions to different settings in time really hooked me as a reader. I found this book especially hard to put down to do these blogs. For about the first time ever, I've actually read a little ahead simply because I want to know what happens. I'm really interested to see how the book unfolds and to understand the key themes Vonnegut reveals in it. So far, this is actually one of my favorite books I've ever read, and I really hope I enjoy the second half as much as the first.
Slaughterhouse-Five: "So it Goes"
"After Edgar Derby, the high school teacher, was shot in Dresden later on, a doctor pronounced him dead and snapped his dogtag in two. So it goes." p.92
This is probably the one hundredth time "so it goes" has been written so I figured I'd give it a well-deserved blog. Obviously, with this being repeated so often, it is connected somehow with the theme. So far from the story, I haven't been able to identify a key theme, but I really think this reoccurring phrase has some connection. It really captures the laid-back atmosphere within the progression of the story. Everything seems to be happening almost without care. Billy seems to have no control on the actions in his own life as he drifts through time. The phrase "so it goes" influences the reader to come to understand things in the way Billy perceives them. It implies that everything must be taken as it is because it simply does not change. I hope this analysis is on the right track. I'm interested to see what other's thought of the repetition of this phrase.
This is probably the one hundredth time "so it goes" has been written so I figured I'd give it a well-deserved blog. Obviously, with this being repeated so often, it is connected somehow with the theme. So far from the story, I haven't been able to identify a key theme, but I really think this reoccurring phrase has some connection. It really captures the laid-back atmosphere within the progression of the story. Everything seems to be happening almost without care. Billy seems to have no control on the actions in his own life as he drifts through time. The phrase "so it goes" influences the reader to come to understand things in the way Billy perceives them. It implies that everything must be taken as it is because it simply does not change. I hope this analysis is on the right track. I'm interested to see what other's thought of the repetition of this phrase.
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