Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five - Essay Example

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five is mockery text it its own right. Kurt Vonnegut wrotethis amazing piece of literature as a reflection of the horrors of World War II in Dresden. This wonderful city on the East part of Germany was in a state of war. Firebombing occurred on February 13, 1945 and caused the death of 130000 civilians. Yet, Vonnegut’s treatment of this horrendous experience borders on humor. He writes his own voice by narrating the experience while he was a prisoner of war.

His work on chapter one points to the reality about the firebombing. Dresden slaughterhouse served as his prison alongside Bernhard O’Hare. While in prison, their discussion relates to life under communism. Vonnegut makes clear his antiwar stance. In the years following the war, he encounters ignorance of people about the magnitude of destruction at Dresden. In chapter five, Billy learns about Tralfamadorians and their philosophy of acceptance. By offering the Tralfamadorians theories to the public, Billy extends his optometry practice beyond typical lenses.

I cannot ignore the destructive of properties of war. This is a city where fire is raining from the sky. Lives have been lost and property has been destroyed. Dresden is a dead city. This story presents the no subtle destructiveness of the war. For example, Billy is successful in the post war when he becomes the president of Lion Club. He also works as prosperous optometrist. But there is also the illusion of free will. Billy runs up against forces that counter his free will. As a child, his father lets him to sink on the deep end of the pool to teach him how to swim.

But Billy’s free will to stay at the bottom of the pool dismays his father. The most difficult thing to discern is Vonnegut admission of inevitability of death. Work CitedKurt, Vonnegut. The Slaughterhouse-Five. Available at https://7chan.org/lit/src/Kurt_Vonnegut_-_Slaughterhouse_Five.pdf