I recently finished reading kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five and i quite enjoyed it but i dont get why it is so highly praised as being one of the greatest books ever written. Slaughterhousefive was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a best seller, and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as catch22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade. The chapter begins with the story of valencias death. A special fiftieth anniversary edition of kurt vonneguts masterpiece, a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century time, featuring a new introduction by kevin powers, author of the national book award finalist the yellow birdsselected by the modern library as one of the 100 best novels of all time.
Immediately download the slaughterhousefive summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching slaughterhousefive. Like catch 22, it fashions the authors experiences in the second world war into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. Or, the childrens crusade, a dutydance with death kurt vonnegut, 1969 random house 224 pp. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books 50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. According to nanowrimo, manuscripts must be over 50k words to qualify. Valencia continues driving despite the accident and pull into the hospital parking lot, only to pass out. A dutydance with death 1969 is a satirical novel by kurt vonnegut about world war ii experiences and journeys through time of a soldier named billy pilgrim.
Reas maxnotes is an insightful series of literature study guides covering over 80 of the most popular literary works. Slaughterhouse five is the story of billy pilgrim, a decidedly nonheroic man who has become unstuck in time. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. The narrator begins slaughterhousefive by explaining a number of details about the novel, primarily how he came to write it. Slaughterhousefive at bookit artsstageseattle rage, 61615. After hearing that billy was in a plane crash in vermont, valencia drives the family cadillac and, because she is distraught, makes an incorrect turn, slows down, and is hit by a mercedes, damaging the cars exhaust system. I would have read it when i was 910 or so if i knew about this book but it could be hard for 9 year old and younger to understand what was going on. The climax of slaughterhouse five is the bombing of dresden at the end of world. It also has one of the alltime great opening lines in literature as it begins what is surely one of the strangest meditations on war. On november 10, 1973, newspapers report the burning of 36 copies of slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut vonneguts book was a combination of real events and science fiction. Kurt vonneguts 1969 novel slaughterhousefive is steeped in irony. He travels back and forth in time, visiting his birth, death, all the moments in between repeatedly and out of order. Centring on the infamous firebombing of dresden in the second world war, billy pilgrims odyssey through time reflects the journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing.
Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade. He opens the novel by speaking in his own voice and the refrain. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. The night after his daughters wedding in 1967, as he later reveals on a radio talk show, billy is kidnapped by twofoothigh aliens who resemble upsidedown toilet plungers, who he says are called tralfamadorians. The absurdist, nonlinear work blends science fiction with historical facts, notably vonneguts own experience as a prisoner of war in dresden, germany, during the allied firebombing of that city in early 1945. Book summary slaughterhouse five is written in the voice of kurt vonnegut. People who like slaughterhousefive book by kurt vonnegut, kurt vonnegut c. Slaughterhouse five is one of the worlds great antiwar books. A dutydance with death is a science fictioninfused antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, first published in 1969. Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade see other formats. Slaughterhousefive includes another feature often associated with postmodern fiction. Dead bodies are shown frequently during the world war ii scenes and after the bombing of dresden. Slaughterhousefive is an account of billy pilgrims capture and incarceration by the germans during the last years of world war ii, and scattered throughout the narrative are episodes from billys life both before and after the war, and from his travels to the planet tralfamadore trawlfahmuhdoor.
Slaughterhouse five essays are academic essays for citation. Vonnegut uses selfreference throughout the novel to call into question the truth of his and billy pilgrims report of the dresden bombings. Billy is able to move both forwards and backwards through his lifetime in an. There are many clues and evidence in slaughterhouse five that billy pilgrim is going insane. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to organization. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Instead, slaughterhouse five represents science fiction as the literature of ideas, and in that area, as in so many others it is a classic. The book i read was, slaughterhouse five, by kurt vonnegut. He maintains, by and large, that the parts about the war are true, although he admits that he has changed peoples names. In the opening chapter of slaughterhousefive, kurt vonnegut recounts his being unable to write a war book about the dresden firebombing february 15, 1945, which he survived.
Perry morans 201415 book trailer for slaughterhouse five. It follows the life and experiences of billy pilgrim, from his early years to his time as an american soldier and chaplains assistant during world war ii, to the postwar years, with billy occasionally traveling through time itself. I loved the book, dont get me wrong, but i might be missing a deeper meaning. Slaughterhouse five chapter 1 kurt vonnegut youtube. Summary kurt vonneguts absurdist classic slaughterhousefive introduces us to billy pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet tralfamadore. And so it goes, in bookits ingenious slaughterhousefive seattle times, 61815. The slaughterhouse does not get much business now that most of the livestock in germany has been killed and eaten. In 1967 the guggenheim foundation sponsored a trip for he and bernard v. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of slaughterhouse five by kurt vonnegut.
This book was about a boy named billy who grew up in new york and is a smart kid in school. For each chapter, select at least two 2 prompts to which to respond. Immediately, billy is thrown into battle of the bulge and is taken as a prisoner from germans. Foreshadowing of events in kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five counterculture and slaughterhousefive. One guy i knew really was shot for taking a teapot that wasnt his. Slaughterhousefive is an extremely entertaining read, and an important book for teen readers to explore more deeply in a classroom setting. Slaughterhousefive taken from the name of the building where the pows were held is not only vonneguts most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Pdf slaughterhouse five download full pdf book download.
A halfcentury ago this week, kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefivea darkly comic, throughly batshit, semiautobiographical antiwar novel about a fatalistic young american soldier who survives the firebombing of dresden and becomes unstuck in timewas first published. He gets picked to be in the army during world war ii. I suggest you read through the questions for a chapter before you begin reading it, and then jotting down page numbers as something of interest appears. A blend of fact and fiction at bookit seattle pi, 61915. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following material.
Ohare to visit the dresden slaughterhouse where they were held prisoner during world war ii. The americans are brought to a building that once held pigs waiting to be slaughtered. His plan with the book is to write about the firebombing of dresden, germany during world war ii. The subtitle of the book, after all, is the childrens crusade. Slaughterhousefive is a very thought provoking and poignant antiwar novel that has elements of science fiction, including 4th dimensional time travel and aliens. A summary of chapter 10 in kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. This passage also introduces the actual slaughterhousefive, which will become the pows home for only a short while, and which embodies an irony central to the book. The winner of the 1970 hugo was the left hand of darkness by ursula k.
A dutydance with death, antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, published in 1969. I do plan to reread the book in the future to hopefully understand it better, but i did not get it the first time. The novel is framed by chapters one and ten, in which vonnegut himself talks about the difficulties of writing the novel and the effects of dresden on. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. I read slaughterhouse 5 when i was 11 and from then on, i had a period when i read only kurt vonnegut jrs works. They take him in their flying saucer to the planet tralfamadore, where they mate him with a movie actress named montana wildhack. Editions of slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut jr.
The reporting of billys speech is in the present tense for example. Because slaughterhousefive is an antiwar book, vonnegut sure isnt presenting us with any heroes and to make sure we dont wonder if the men in the novel have the selfdetermination or free will to make heroic choices, slaughterhousefive relies a lot on absurdity. Chapter 4 summary let get you up to speed on key information and facts on slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut. It is generally recognized as vonneguts most influential and popular work. Its a nonlinear story that follows a man named billy pilgrim as he travels throughout different moments in his life, weaving back and forth through differing time periods. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of slaughterhousefive and what it means. Chapter 3 summary let get you up to speed on key information and facts on slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut. Copies of slaughterhousefive are burned in north dakota. Slaughter house five by kurt vonnegut, 9780440180296, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
624 1537 224 610 1593 66 1040 1131 1095 1296 239 1056 654 1559 1553 853 1570 194 131 518 1444 1394 526 416 32 224 1370 1207 230 363