Slaughterhouse-Five
by: Lily Hamilton
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut was a liberal humanist as well as a American writer. The inspiration for this book was taken from his experiences as a solder in world war II. As it also was the premise for many other of his books. His most famous books include; Cats cradle, 1963. slaughterhouse-five, 1969, And breakfast of champions, 1973.
Billy Pillgrim- Main Character
Billy Pilgrim is a man who has become 'unstuck in time." He jumps from one time in his life to the next and the next, then back again and so on, put bluntly-hes a involuntary, time traveler. He begins his life as a weakling and continues till he joins the war as a solder. he becomes some what of a joke to all the other solders because of his scrawny appearance and cowardice personality. His connection with others is only made clear through his memories of the past or future. He knows all of his life and his perception of time and the accepting of death has been skewed by the Tralfamadorian philosophy. stating that, "When a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past. All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist."
Conflict that drives the book.
Billy Pilgrim is "Unstuck in time." having to re-live portions of his life in a jumbled sequence. he is forever trying to make sense of his life and to forget the horrors he saw as a solder. which is hard to do when you can never escape the re telling of your own life.
Plot
Billy pilgrim knew his birth, Billy pilgrim knew his early childhood, every moment of his life, he knew before it even happened. Billy Pilgrim knew the precise moment of his death and all the things that he would do up in till that point. Billy knew the man who would kill him and knew how it would be done. But billy pilgrim would do nothing to change it. For- his death would only be for a moment and he will continue to be alive when the next moment comes. Death is not eternal nor is it it infinite it simply is.
Short Passage.
"So it goes..."
This quote from the book, is what I think, one of the most important and significant quotes.
these three word are used after every death. Demonstrating the irony and dark humor of the war mixed with the "Tralfamadorians" beliefs of time. it demonstrates and explains all of the meaningless and frequent death that Billy witnessed over the course of his life.
This quote from the book, is what I think, one of the most important and significant quotes.
these three word are used after every death. Demonstrating the irony and dark humor of the war mixed with the "Tralfamadorians" beliefs of time. it demonstrates and explains all of the meaningless and frequent death that Billy witnessed over the course of his life.
who might enjoy this book
The kind of reader who would enjoy this book would be somebody who likes dark subjects. Or someone who would like to know more about the side of world war II that not most people dont know much about. I also suggest this book to people who like a good read and who are into science fiction, But if your looking for a book that you don't need a good level of intelligences to read and understand then this its not the book for you.
my opinion of this book.
I thought that Slaughterhouse five was a great read. not only was it interesting but it made you think. The writing style that Kurt Vonnegut uses is brilliant and well thought out. it combines a thrilling war story with a soft touch of humor. I would say that this book is high on my good book list.