Vonnegut's Slaughter House 5 Essay

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Lane Cooper

June 18, 2012

Period 3

Slaughterhouse-Five: Anti-War

        Throughout history, war has been a topic of many books worldwide. Some highlight tactics or reasoning behind battles, but most discuss the consequences of war; the pain, the suffering, the tragedy that comes with war. Slaughterhouse Five is of the latter variety, anti-war themes are spread throughout the story. By using similes, imagery, and dialogue, Kurt Vonnegut conveys the theme of anti-war.

        In the very first chapter of the story the narrator is discussing his book. He is talking to the filmmaker about it about it and he says, “You might as well write an anti-glacier book” (pg 4). The narrator has been in war before, he has experienced what it does, what it leaves behind. The filmmaker is alluding to the inevitability of war; they are as easy to stop as glaciers, which is impossible. This powerful use of simile makes an impact on the reader, and helps convey the anti-war theme.

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        In chapter three Billy and Weary are captured by the Germans. They force them to pose as victors beneath the German’s iron fist. They paint a scene where dogs are used to round up the enemies in the cold and snow. They show the more painful side of war, depicted by detailed imagery, “Two of the Germans were boys in their early teens. Two were ramshackle old men- droolers as toothless as carp. They were irregulars, armed and clothed fragmentarily with junk taken from real soldiers who were newly dead” (pg 52).  Vonnegut uses imagery to paint a picture for ...

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