Kurt Vonnegut is almost as blunt as Glozell. Enjoy.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Slaughterhouse-Five- Opinion #2/ Tone
"A whole city gets burned down, and thousands and thousands of people are killed. And then this one American foot soldier is arrested in the ruins for taking a teapot. And he's given a regular trial, and then he's shot by a firing squad." (pg. 5)
This quote from early on in the novel is a perfect example of why I like this book. It's straight-forward, grim but sickeningly captivating, and easy to understand. As opposed to other works that practically write in another language, this novel is actually believable. The tone is one of the best parts about this novel. The author's participation in the military gives him an obvious bias but he makes his point clearly: war is massacre. The tone, therefor, comes from his negative personal experiences and his opinions on how to avoid future ones. The tone is also laced with dark humor and a bit of irony to the point where it's hard to tell which it is. For example, the author tells this story, a gruesome one at that, as a fictional one he will put in his book. Since it's so specific, I'm not sure if it was a story of his life or about one of his friends or simply false. Any way you slice it, Vonnegut's blunt, sarcastic, and eerie tone makes for a grim but believable and intriguing story.
This quote from early on in the novel is a perfect example of why I like this book. It's straight-forward, grim but sickeningly captivating, and easy to understand. As opposed to other works that practically write in another language, this novel is actually believable. The tone is one of the best parts about this novel. The author's participation in the military gives him an obvious bias but he makes his point clearly: war is massacre. The tone, therefor, comes from his negative personal experiences and his opinions on how to avoid future ones. The tone is also laced with dark humor and a bit of irony to the point where it's hard to tell which it is. For example, the author tells this story, a gruesome one at that, as a fictional one he will put in his book. Since it's so specific, I'm not sure if it was a story of his life or about one of his friends or simply false. Any way you slice it, Vonnegut's blunt, sarcastic, and eerie tone makes for a grim but believable and intriguing story.
Slaughterhouse-Five- Opinion #1/Abstract
"This was when Billy first came unstuck in time....And then Billy swung back into life again, going backwards until he was in pre-birth." (pg. 43)
Ok, so despite all the graphic, blunt imagery in this book, along with grim humor and vulgarity, I still really enjoy this book. A few things I don't understand are concerned with the book's abstract themes. The biggest one is time travel. First, the novel starts with Vonnegut telling HIS story about writing a book. Then, he reads us the actual book he wrote, telling BILLY'S story. So far, so good. Billy's story, however often talks about coming stuck and unstuck in time. I can see how time seems to go fast or slow, but stuck and unstuck makes practically no sense to me. And then in this quote, it talks about going back in time. Is this actual time travel, or does he just feel like it is?
Anyways, the other aspect that is just not as believable and real as others in the book is the fact that Billy thinks he was abducted by aliens. Did that actually happen? I think that would be interesting for him since they see 4D and he's an optometrist, but I can't decide if he's serious or a lunatic. Oh, well, here's a clip from Back to the Future. Totally relatable.
Ok, so despite all the graphic, blunt imagery in this book, along with grim humor and vulgarity, I still really enjoy this book. A few things I don't understand are concerned with the book's abstract themes. The biggest one is time travel. First, the novel starts with Vonnegut telling HIS story about writing a book. Then, he reads us the actual book he wrote, telling BILLY'S story. So far, so good. Billy's story, however often talks about coming stuck and unstuck in time. I can see how time seems to go fast or slow, but stuck and unstuck makes practically no sense to me. And then in this quote, it talks about going back in time. Is this actual time travel, or does he just feel like it is?
Anyways, the other aspect that is just not as believable and real as others in the book is the fact that Billy thinks he was abducted by aliens. Did that actually happen? I think that would be interesting for him since they see 4D and he's an optometrist, but I can't decide if he's serious or a lunatic. Oh, well, here's a clip from Back to the Future. Totally relatable.
Slaughterhouse-Five- Characterization
"Billy was preposterous- six feet and three inches tall, with a chest and shoulders like a box of kitchen matches." (pg. 33)
This quote shows characterization of Billy, the eye doctor turned alien abductee turned soldier. I think this quote is a little bit ironic, too, because in addition to pointing out his bony features and awkwardness, the setting, the middle of a war, is even more out of place. This is direct characterization since it says that he is preposterous. It is also indirect because it uses his physical features to imply his awkward nature, especially on a battlefield. Another quote, from the same page, that I find humorous is Billy's reaction to nearly getting shot. "Billy stood there politely, giving the marksman another chance." (pg. 33) This quote shows how, along with his gigantic stature (see what I did there?), his "polite" demeanor proves him as ill-equipped for fighting a war. I'm not sure, but that quote could also show the anti-war theme. Billy was too polite, considered a good quality, which contrasts with his effectiveness in war, something the author rebukes as an evil thing. So at least Billy almost getting shot and awkwardly standing in the middle of the range of fire helped us readers learn a lesson. :)
This quote shows characterization of Billy, the eye doctor turned alien abductee turned soldier. I think this quote is a little bit ironic, too, because in addition to pointing out his bony features and awkwardness, the setting, the middle of a war, is even more out of place. This is direct characterization since it says that he is preposterous. It is also indirect because it uses his physical features to imply his awkward nature, especially on a battlefield. Another quote, from the same page, that I find humorous is Billy's reaction to nearly getting shot. "Billy stood there politely, giving the marksman another chance." (pg. 33) This quote shows how, along with his gigantic stature (see what I did there?), his "polite" demeanor proves him as ill-equipped for fighting a war. I'm not sure, but that quote could also show the anti-war theme. Billy was too polite, considered a good quality, which contrasts with his effectiveness in war, something the author rebukes as an evil thing. So at least Billy almost getting shot and awkwardly standing in the middle of the range of fire helped us readers learn a lesson. :)
OH, YES HE DID.
Slaughterhouse-Five- Style
"Celine was a brave French soldier in the First World War- until his skull was cracked." (pg.21)
This blog analyzes Vonnegut's style throughout the novel. His writing style is very sarcastic with a touch of dark humor, which is why I am really enjoying this book, even though it gets graphic at times. First, the author's style is influenced by the narrator's experience in war, adding to the desensitized tone. For example, in this quote, the author perfectly describes a heroic person, but then bluntly describes his death completely disregarding senstivity. The author's excuse, however, is that he was involved in a brutal war, a "massacre," which creates a lack of a sense of sensitivity and feeling. In a way, this helps the author's anti-war argument. The quote shows that by going through war, a person's sense of feeling is diminished which explains the blatant and graphic imagery. Another phrase the narrator uses is "and so on" or "so it goes." These phrases also show how the speaker is so used to death that it doesn't affect him anymore. The argument he uses is that the time a person spends dying is nothing compared to all the time they spent happy, so that logic itself is acceptable. The fact that he claims he learned it from the Tralfamadorians is a bit sketchy....
This blog analyzes Vonnegut's style throughout the novel. His writing style is very sarcastic with a touch of dark humor, which is why I am really enjoying this book, even though it gets graphic at times. First, the author's style is influenced by the narrator's experience in war, adding to the desensitized tone. For example, in this quote, the author perfectly describes a heroic person, but then bluntly describes his death completely disregarding senstivity. The author's excuse, however, is that he was involved in a brutal war, a "massacre," which creates a lack of a sense of sensitivity and feeling. In a way, this helps the author's anti-war argument. The quote shows that by going through war, a person's sense of feeling is diminished which explains the blatant and graphic imagery. Another phrase the narrator uses is "and so on" or "so it goes." These phrases also show how the speaker is so used to death that it doesn't affect him anymore. The argument he uses is that the time a person spends dying is nothing compared to all the time they spent happy, so that logic itself is acceptable. The fact that he claims he learned it from the Tralfamadorians is a bit sketchy....
Slaughterhouse-Five- Theme
"I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres," (pg.19)
The literary term for this blog is theme, which can be seen very early on in this book. This book, as stated on the back cover, is an anti-war book. This quote depicts Kurt Vonnegut's theme that war is bad and should be stopped. First, the author doesn't even use the word war here. By using the word massacre he is implying that war is an unnecessary killing of large numbers of people, regardless of the outcome. This opinion of the author is evident throughout the book, both present and past time frames. Also in this quote is the father's insistance on his sons not joining the army-once again, not "join the military," but to "take part in massacres." His command that no one in his family should take part in war shows a couple key things: the fact that he fought in a war and is saying this shows that it was not a pleasant or rewarding experience, and that Vonnegut's aim of this book is to promote a totally anti-war philosophy.
The literary term for this blog is theme, which can be seen very early on in this book. This book, as stated on the back cover, is an anti-war book. This quote depicts Kurt Vonnegut's theme that war is bad and should be stopped. First, the author doesn't even use the word war here. By using the word massacre he is implying that war is an unnecessary killing of large numbers of people, regardless of the outcome. This opinion of the author is evident throughout the book, both present and past time frames. Also in this quote is the father's insistance on his sons not joining the army-once again, not "join the military," but to "take part in massacres." His command that no one in his family should take part in war shows a couple key things: the fact that he fought in a war and is saying this shows that it was not a pleasant or rewarding experience, and that Vonnegut's aim of this book is to promote a totally anti-war philosophy.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
I think this was the sound Walton heard when he was writing to his sister...totes creeps.
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