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Example research essay topic: Billy Pilgrim Slaughterhouse Five - 1,296 words

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... ending quarters. This comes as a shock to the reader, because of the torturous intentions the Nazis invented for the showers, thus creating the reader's surprise to find the victims in a German camp, unharmed. Vonnegut uses the setting to play upon the nerves of the reader by setting up a terrible death that the fatigued Americans are prepared to walk right into. Billy recalls, The Americans halted.

They stood there quietly in the cold. The sheds they were among were outwardly like thousands of other sheds they had passed. There was this difference, though: the sheds had tin chimneys, and out of the chimneys whirled constellations of sparks (93). There is a sense of unavoidable death in the description of the prisoner-of-war camp. This apprehension originates from the horrendous deaths of the Jewish people when they were burned in ovens, and ground down to be used as bars of soap and buttons. Furthermore, it seems apparent to reader that the Americans are fated to die, as they stood there quietly in the cold.

Also, this shows the acceptance of fate by the Americans, and their lack of free will, as it is futile to resist what must ultimately happen to them. Consequently, the setting in Slaughterhouse-Five was employed to create a fatalistic view of life. A fatalistic perspective of life is shown through Vonnegut's use of structure. Throughout the novel, Vonnegut uses a fragmented structure, shifting between events in Billy's life. Consequently, this structure almost implies that Vonnegut has no control over the order of the novel, and therefore no control over life, even if only on paper.

Vonnegut tells how the story ends before it begins, creating the destiny of the story before the reader has even commenced to make any conclusions about the content. Vonnegut writes: It begins like this: Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time. It ends like this: Poo-tee-weet? (22) With the structure of this introduction, Vonnegut is creating the destiny of his book. The format of Slaughterhouse-Five makes relations form in the readers mind with the Tralfamadorian novels, and from the Tralfamadorian novels, one's mind is connected again with fate, because of the strong Tralfamadorian belief in fate. Billy tried to read a Tralfamadorian novel once, then commented on its structure, how it was organized, or disorganized, in a rather patternless way. An alien responds, There isn't any particular relationship between all the messages, except that the author has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep.

There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. (88) Vonnegut uses this loose structure so that, when the book is read, there is a feeling about life that is extremely insightful in certain areas. By relating Slaughterhouse-Five to a Tralfamadorian novel, one must also think of the Tralfamadorian belief in fate. Furthermore, the disconnected ordering of events that Vonnegut implements, when seen all at once reveal that war is inevitable because no matter, which period humanity is examined, war is always present, and will continue to be present. Therefore, Vonnegut uses this structure to form a mould of a fatalistic world by concocting a compound of events that are so disorganized that they could not possibly happen to anyone but Billy, because fate has destined his life to be incoherent and unrelated. In this way, Vonnegut uses structure very effectively for his purpose of displaying the inevitability of war.

Another literary device that Vonnegut uses are allusions, which aided in the creation of a world that was inevitably predetermined. Vonnegut uses examples that, on the surface, have no connection with the events of a Billy's life. However, the examples sink into the readers mind, and eventually form a general sense of fate by linking the lives of the characters with the lives of people who have already lived, and experienced destiny, people whose history has been recorded as an example of the necessity of certain events. Vonnegut makes many connections with Biblical people who were fated to die a certain way, knowing beforehand what their fate would be if they committed a certain sin, but still committing the sin because, even then, these people were human, and could not live otherwise. One specific example can be found in Lot's wife, a woman who has endured many hardships, and has finally been evicted from her home because the Lord is about to burn the city, and wishes to save Lots family.

The only way that Lot, and his entourage can remain innocent is to walk away from the city without looking back. However, even though Lots wife knew the consequences, she still looked back. Vonnegut introduces his book, And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back? But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned into a pillar of salt? This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt. (22) In this quotation, Vonnegut is comparing himself to Lots wife, a woman who knew before leaving that she would be turned into salt if she looked back, but she did look back.

The author compares himself to this woman because he is looking back, so perhaps his book is a failure, because looking back has turned him into a pillar of salt, but fate had previously decreed that Vonnegut and Lots wife would both look back, Vonnegut to his war years, and Lots wife to the city of her former residence. Another biblical allusion that appears throughout this novel is comparison of Billy Pilgrim to Jesus Christ. Vonnegut writes, Billy cried little, though he often saw things worth crying about, and in that respect, at least, he resembled the Christ of the carol. (197) The carol referred to is, Away in the Manger, a song unique for its peaceful description of Jesus humble birth and surroundings, as well as the infants response to his new habitat. Subsequently, Billy is portrayed as a young child, nave, and wondering at his surroundings, yet peaceful, and quiet.

However, this is only shown by allusion, because Vonnegut never clearly states how young and innocent Billy was when he went off to war. Billy Pilgrim's naivet is shown only in the way he responds to the war, and how the war has made him a weeping, and disconnected young man permanently, a man so confused that he commits himself to an insane asylum, and refuses to see his own mother. Billy's whole life is alluded to as a fated journey that someone has to endure, and Billy could do nothing to change his situation, as with keeping with the Tralfamadorian philosophy of this novel: everything is subject to fate. In concordance, Vonnegut uses allusion to display the events of the world as inevitable, and the lives of its peoples dominated by fate.

Undoubtedly, Slaughterhouse-Five is an examination of a world ruled solely by fate. Through the atmosphere of the scenes, the construction of Vonnegut's writing, and the insinuation to other connections to fate, clearly depict that life in Slaughterhouse-Five, follows a predetermined master plan. Vonnegut's world is a microcosm of reality through its recognition that war is inevitable. In addition, the Tralfamadorian philosophy of that life is that everything that will happen as already been predetermined, whereas it is certain that there will continue to be wars, as it is impossible to tame the greed, and insanity of every individual. Furthermore, it is futile to try to prevent wars, as is apparent in the Middle East.

In conclusion, Vonnegut's novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, effectively creates a world that is dominated by fate.


Free research essays on topics related to: slaughterhouse five, billy life, readers mind, billy pilgrim, looked back

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