Ch 6: Death Post 2

For Chapter 6, I will relate characters in the book to someone in real life.  That someone is Kurt Vonnegut. His first relation was to, of course, Billy Pilgrim.  When Vonnegut was in the war, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge (like Billy did,) was separated by his regiment (like Billy was,) and was soon captured by Germans (like Billy.)  Vonnegut also relates to Edgar Derby.  While he was a POW in the war, he was elected the leader of the prisoners just as Derby was.

Ch 6: Death Post 1

The Lit Term for Chapter 6: Death (Billy's death) is "foil character."  I personally think that Paul Lazzaro and Billy Pilgrim are foils.  Billy is a peaceful person. Lazzaro, not so much.  Billy wished for peace on Earth during his time on Tralfamadore while Lazzaro "put points on the ends," and "stuck 'em into a steak." He then waited while the dog ate the steak and soon "Blood started coming out of his mouth. He started crying, and he rolled on the ground, as though the knives were on the outside of him."  He did put sharp metal into a steak and fed it to a dog, so he's not quite the nicest guy you'll meet.

Ch 5: Prison Post 2

In Chapter 5 of Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy and his wife go on a honeymoon.  This practically relates to just about every married couple ever.  Most married couples have a honeymoon. Couples take trips out of town to spend time with each other.

Ch 5: Prison Post 1

For Chapter 5, Prison, the literary term I will use is dialect.  Dialect is a way of speaking that is common to a specific area. For example, the Englishmen say, "You're on fire, lad," "What have they done to you, lad," and "What became of your boots, lad?"  The repeated use of the word lad is to specify that they are English.

Ch 4: Stolen Post 2

In Slaughterhouse-five, Billy Pilgrim is abducted by Tralfamadorians, an alien race.  This relates to a couple named Betty and Barney Hill.  The couple were the first people to get much media attention for claiming to be abducted by aliens.  They claimed to be abducted on Sept. 19-20, 1961, eight years before the book was written.

Ch 4: Stolen Post 1

Alright, I think it's time that I finally use this vocab word for the book (it had to come up at some point.)  The word is motif and what it describes is "So it goes."  Vonnegut uses "So it goes." as a recurring phrase every time someone dies because they still live on in the moments in the past; it's just at this moment that they are dead. So it goes.

Ch 3: The Capture Post 2

For this chapter, I'm going to relate the book to history. More specifically, German WWII history.  In the book, Billy Pilgrim is transported, via train, into Germany.  This is historically accurate.  Germans transported captured soldiers, Christians, Jews, gypsies, etc. into Germany by packing them into boxcars.  People died in these boxcars just as they died in the book too.

Ch 3: The Capture Post 1

For Chapter 3, the vocabulary word I will choose is "situational irony."  This fits the beginning of the chapter perfectly.  In Chapter 2, Billy, Roland, and the two scouts were being chased by German soldiers with dogs.   They were, but the ironic part was that the dog "was shivering. Her tail was between her legs."  Also, "Two of the Germans were boys in their early teens. Two were ramshackle old men... Their commander was a middle-aged corporal- red-eyed, scrawny, tough as dried beef, sick of war."  They were misfits just like Billy's group, although we were expected to believe that they were real soldiers.

Ch 2: So It Goes Post 2

I'm probably not the only one to pick up on this, but I probably am the only one that will post about it. I just hope I don't get in trouble. So it goes.

Roland Weary carries condoms with him.  Yes, I will connect this to our world today.  Mr. Weary carries condoms "For the Prevention of Disease Only!" Basically, he carries them as a "just in case" kind of thing.  This connects to culture in general because guys do this. They might carry one in case they find themselves in a situation requiring one. Obviously I don't, but other guys might. So it goes.

Ch 2: So It Goes Post 1

Billy Pilgrim. What a guy. Billy is the protagonist of the story, but that's not the literary term I'm going to use. Billy, he's an antihero. Vonnegut describes him as "tall and weak, and shaped like a bottle of Coca-Cola . . . He looked like a filthy flamingo." Obviously, he doesn't sound very hero like.  Heroes aren't shaped like Coca-Cola. So it goes.

Ch 1: The Vonnegut Preface Post 2

My second post here about the Vonnegut Preface will be about the same thing as the first: Vonnegut talking to his dog.  This kind of thing happens all the time. I would say that most people talk to their pets. My grandma talks to my cat all the time. Vonnegut talking to Sandy is an everyday, ordinary thing for most people.

Ch1: The Vonnegut Preface Post 1

For Chapter 1, which I like to call "The Vonnegut Preface" because it doesn't seem that much like part of the story, the literary term I chose was anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is seen when Vonnegut says, "And I let the dog out, or I let him in, and we talk some." Vonnegut and his dog talk because dogs can do that. Honestly, the purpose this quote seems to have is to prove that Vonnegut is a normal person.  It's just the first chapter so I can't go too deep on this but that is what the quote seems to do.