Kurt Vonneguts Slaughter House Five Essay - 504 Words

Slaughter House Five Expaination Based on Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s book by the same name, Slaughterhouse Five has been described by many as one of the best anti-war novels of the 20th Century. In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim finds unstuck in time jumping between several periods of his life. From his experience as a prisoner of war in World War II to his suburban family life in the 1950s and 1960s, and his experience as a human specimen in an alien zoo on a distant planet, Billy seemingly has no control over these transitions, many seemingly coming without warning, others may be provoked by events at hand. As disconcerting as the non-linear format may seem to some viewers, the nature of Billys jump in time are not nearly as†¦show more content†¦As we watch Billys life unfold through these series of glimpses into his world, a picture begins to emerge of a man whose traumatic experience during World War II has greatly influenced the rest of his existence. The horrors of war have given Billy a unique perspective on human nature and he doesnt like what he sees. While the question of whether Billy is insane or is truly unstuck in time becomes the focal point of the movie to some extent, it is left to the viewer to draw their own conclusions. I personally believe Billys random sequence of events to be his own coping mechanism for dealing with the traumatic events that shaped his life. Unable to deal with the horrors of his POW experience, he suppresses them only dealing with them at a later date. In fact there are many scenes from his World War II experience that parallel his present day life. One scene that comes to mind is Billy walking up a flight of stairs in his home after coming home from the hospital. The scene cuts back to Billys climb out of the bomb shelter in Dresden. This is almost a sense of dà ©jà   vu for Billy with his past and present reflecting each other. Not just the climbing of the stairs, but the realization that at both junctures in his life he is climbing into an unknown future. At one point Billy speaks of having even seen his own death during one of these jumps. He admits that he has come to terms with his inevitable death and has taken comfort in knowingShow MoreRelatedGeorge Roy Hills Movie Adaptation of Kurt Vonneguts Slaughter-House Five1100 Words   |  5 PagesGeorge Roy Hills movie adaptation of Kurt Vonneguts novel Slaughter-house Five is a fairly accurate version that stays relatively close to Vonneguts own vision. Throughout Vonnegut novel Billy Pilgrim, a WWII soldier who was captured by the Germans and held captive as an American POW (prisoner of war), demonstrates several extreme compulsive tendencies due to the horrific events he witnessed as an American POW victim. 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His literary works have had varied impacts on American culture, including the use of the word â€Å"karass† amongst college students, the naming of the pop groups â€Å"Ice Nine Kills† and â€Å"The Billy Pilgrims†, and the frequent use of the term â€Å"So it goes† as written in Vonnegut’s obituary on the New York Times (Farrell, p.ix). This ar ticle examines the impacts of Vonnegut’s on his literaryRead More Views on War in Vonneguts Slaughter House Five Essay1328 Words   |  6 PagesViews on War in Vonneguts Slaughter House Five    Many people returned from World War II with disturbing images forever stuck in their heads. Others returned and went crazy due to the many hardships and terrors faced. The protagonist in Slaughter-House Five, Billy Pilgrim, has to deal with some of these things along with many other complications in his life. 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Disease and famine were faced by both civilians and soldiers, and the casualties were about 80 million. Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughter House-Five mostly takes place during the war, specifically during the time of the infamous Dresden bombing. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is an American soldier who lived to tell, and was present during, the bombing. It is through Billy Pilgrim’s