There is nothing laudable about young people leaving their homes in order to fight for their countries. Moreover, these young people are very different from how they are usually presented. They are frightened, horrified, and it would be absurd to call them war heroes, regardless of the role that they played in the war.
Vonnegut's intention is to condemn war, and, thus, instead of providing his readers with a traditional hero-like figure, he gives Billy. The author sees the injustice in promoting heroes who are fascinating, as he knows that this would only serve in encouraging warfare. When it sees a model, the general public is normally inclined to become that model, despite the consequences of its actions. Stories of heroes are somewhat similar to advertisements, as they promote concepts that are not entirely true. However, fuelled by the actions performed by various heroes, people are most likely to want to follow on their footsteps. Vonnegut does not want Billy to become an icon, but, in contrast, he wants him to be presented as a victim, just as most people who have been part of a war are.
The memory of Dresden will never leave the author's mind, just as it will remain with Billy forever. The thought that all time happens simultaneously has a terrible effect on Billy, as he learns that the bombing of Dresden will never cease to exist. Postmodernism is yet again present in the novel, as it is introduced through the continuous bombing of Dresden, an incident to some extent similar to the Apocalypse.
Books such as "Slaughterhouse Five" are responsible for changing people's views relating to life, and to how it should be lived. The novel is uniquely postmodernist, its effects on society certainly being strong, as it came up...
Reason tells him that there must be something else, still to come, while he is fighting to stay alive and keep feeling. The author points out that, at some point, he decided to write the book as a "Children's Crusade," as the opposite of every past attempt to present war as something other that what is should be: the worst and most hideous manifestation of the constant of death in
The best evidence for this suffusion in the author's own life is in the final chapter, when the main character/author returns in full force. Traveling peacefully and happily in a plane above Berlin, during a moment he considers "one of the nicest ones in recent times" (Vonnegut, p. 211), removed in time and space from Dresden, Vonnegut "imagined dropping bombs on those lights, those villages and cities and towns," (Vonnegut,
This author used them to see how Kurt Vonnegut is post-modernist. Barry begins in number one by asking how authors discover postmodernist themes and attitudes. In the observation, postmodernists foreground fiction which might be said to exemplify the notion of the 'disappearance of the real' in which shifting postmodern identities are seen. For number three, there is use of parody, pastiche and allusion. For number four, there is foreground irony
This idea appears repeatedly. When Billy proposes marriage to Valencia: Billy didn't want to marry ugly Valencia. She was one of the symptoms of his disease. He knew he was going crazy when he heard himself proposing marriage to her, when he begged her to take the diamond ring and be his companion for life, (ibid p.107). However, he was trapped in his life, for better or worse, such as the
Starting with the names of the characters and continuing with many of the events in the novel, he is ironically picturing a consumer society that needs to rely on certainties in order to secure its present and avoid alienation, which is why the entire conspiracy theory is developed: to provide explanations. The manner in which the novel is written provides a surrealistic picture which alludes to realities of the 1960s
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