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Analysis Of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

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Slaughterhouse-Five is a satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut based on the fictional character Billy Pilgrim and his experience and journeys during the Second World War. Slaughterhouse-Five is regarded as Vonnegut’s most popular novel. The story’s focus on the Dresden bombings is what gives the work its semi-autobiographical genre, as Kurt Vonnegut experienced these events first-hand. It is not entirely an autobiographical book however, as whilst it does feature aspects of the author’s life in the book, the most-part of Slaughterhouse-Five is centered on the fictional character, Billy Pilgrim. Simultaneously, the plot of the novel is also driven by Kurt Vonnegut’s own experiences in Dresden, Germany, which, as mentioned earlier is what gives the …show more content…

In spite of all these, the book is not necessarily anti-war; rather it just explores the various aspects based on his own experience of what life is like living in a war and what makes war a negative thing. Kurt Vonnegut uses the protagonist Billy Pilgrim to demonstrate the last point. Regarding Slaughterhouse-Five’s genre, it is regarded by many to be a war-drama, due not only to the fact that the plot is focused on World War II, but also due to the fact that a large portion of the novel reflects on the experience that individuals undergo in a war-afflicted area. Slaughterhouse-Five also features elements of science-fiction, due to the use of time travel and aliens throughout the book’s plot. Slaughterhouse-Five also is “self-conscious in considering what science fiction is for.” Kurt Vonnegut uses the characters Billy and Eliot Rosewater to explore this. Both characters fit the theme of science fiction as their own realities are rendered illogical and meaningless. Their lives no longer have a purpose, therefore they need “invented realities that work by different rules” as a result. Science fiction is used in the same manner that the theme of war is used in Slaughterhouse-Five, both as a storyline and

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