Process-Writing Prompts for SL5 – Chapter 6

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Bryan

Remember to split your time & words in two. Half goes to Slaughterhouse to prepare for our conversation; half goes to your essay.

Serenity

Is serenity the right response to awfulness? Do you think Vonnegut would say it is? Ground your answer in evidence from the book.

Irony

Dramatic irony is present when the reader realizes something a character does not. What dramatic irony is present with the Englishmen? What do we realize that they do not? How are they wrong?

What do you make of the Englishmen?

Anytime a character starts imagining something–Derby’s letters home, Weary’s “Three Musketeers”–it’s played as ridiculous in this book. Why does Vonnegut do this? What’s the connection between imagination and war?

And is it ironic to ridicule imagination in a work of radical imagination like this book?

Distance

People think of the Americans as great fighters, “tall and cocky and murderous.” The reality in this book is much different. Some people react to the distance between preconception and reality by laughing (e.g. the crowds in Dresden) and some are offended (e.g. the Englishmen, the surgeon in Dresden). How do you react to this distance as a reader? How do you think Vonnegut hopes you react?

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51 Responses to Process-Writing Prompts for SL5 – Chapter 6

  1. Ian SMith says:
    March 2, 2011 at 7:44 pm

    http://750words.com/entries/share/603087

    I’ve finally caught up from being sick.

    Reply
  9. Camryn Walton says:
    February 21, 2011 at 12:36 pm

    http://www.750words.com/entries/share/582920

    I started this yesterday so it wouldn’t let me add more to what I had previously written so I had to copy and paste what I already had to today’s writing…this is why it only took me 15 minutes.

    Reply

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