As I mentioned in class today, we’re going to set Slaughterhouse aside so you can focus more of your time and energy on the upcoming essay. A 750 is still due for Wednesday (post your links in the comments section below, as usual), but you’ll direct all the words toward the downdraft.
Make sure you bring your downdraft to class on Wednesday. We’ll spend the hour doing self-assessment & revision. Happy writing!
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.
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?
No 750 assignment for Friday. Work on your query letter, and re-read chapter 5. Here’s a preview of some questions we’ll talk about in class that day.
The Funny
Where’s the comedy in these chapters? Why make it funny? How does it serve the book’s larger purpose?
Tralfamadorian guide: “On other days, we have wars as horrible as any you’ve ever seen or read about. There isn’t anything we can do about them, so we simply don’t look at them. We ignore them. We spend eternity looking at pleasant moments—like today at the zoo. Isn’t this a nice moment? . . . That’s one thing Earthlings might learn to do if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones.”
What do you make of the Tralfamadorians from this passage? And how does it affect your interpretation of the whole book?
Small Talk
What do you make of the conversation between Rosewater and Billy’s mother? How does it connect to a larger meaning of the book?
“That’s the attractive thing about war,” said Rosewater. “Absolutely everybody gets a little something.”
What’s the connection between war and materialism? Why does Vonnegut link them?
Remember to spend about half your words & time on SLAUGHTERHOUSE to prepare for our conversation, and spend the other half on the mudpit for your essay.
The Unholy Trinity
Sex and religion and war are constantly getting connected in this book–but by what? What is the connective tissue (or tissues) that hold these three things together?
Oh, Billy, Billy, Billy . . .
“Every so often, for no apparent reason, Billy Pilgrim would find himself weeping.” Why does he weep? Is it only for the past?
All craziness aside, is Billy a quiet hero, or kind of an idiot, or something in between? How do you read his so-it-goes, c’est la vie attitude?
Reflection on your process
What’s happening as a result of a second-draft reading? What effects are you noticing on your meaning-making process?
Spend half your time & 750 words on writing about SL5 to prepare for conversation; spend the other half working on your upcoming essay.
As requested by one of my classes, I’ve held back a few prompts so you can feel surprised when new questions come up during conversation. We’ll see how that goes. Happy writing!
Fatalism-Fight or Shrug?
Do you think Vonnegut really believes that “there would always be wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers?” Why do you (or why don’t you) believe him? If he DOES believe that, why did he bother writing this book?
“Now, when I hear myself say that someone is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is, ‘So it goes.’”
Should we take that kind of fatalism as a reasonable stance, or as the absurd musings of a lunatic?
Religion
What connections are drawn between religion and war, both in the children’s crusade and Billy’s war? How does this connect to the larger ideas in the book?
Evil and Evildoers
“You know,” Vonnegut’s father said to him, “you never wrote a story with a villain in it.” Does this book have a villain? Does it feature evil? If there is no villain, who or what is creating the evil?
