| About
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is one
of America's most poignant writers. Nearly a quarter of a century passed
between the night Kurt Vonnegut survived the firebombing of Dresden in
WWII and the publication of his fictional account of that event. Slaughterhouse
Five. As K. Vonnegut says, "It seemed a categorical imperative that
I write about Dresden, the firebombing of Dresden, since it was the largest
massacre in the history of Europe and I am a person of European extraction
and I, a writer, had been present. I had to say something about it."
He is a master of contemporary
American Literature. |
| Read the book and
then perhaps respond to these questions in our Forum.
Or perhaps you can post a question of your own. |
| Questions for readers: (page
numbers refer to the Dell edition) |
1. What is the meaning behind "and
so it goes"?
2. Why does Vonnegut call himself
a "pillar of salt"?
3. Relate Billy’s first experience
with swimming to his efforts as a soldier.
4. Compare pages 7 and 73. What
do these commonalties suggest?
5. Compare the description of Tralfamadorian
literature (p. 88) and Vonnegut’s novel.
6. What do you think is the significance
of the drawings included in Slaughterhouse-Five? Are they interrelated
somehow?
7. What is the significance of the
backwards movie? (p.74)
8. What is the most important thing
Billy learned from the Tralfamadorians? What impact does this have on the
novel? (p. 26-27)
9. Why was Billy not moved to protest
the bombing of N. Vietnam? (p.60)
10. What attitude and/or aspects
of society does Roland Weary represent?
11. How are Kilgore Trout’s stories related
to what happened to Billy or to our society?
12. How is Billy a Christ figure?
13. "Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim,
trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." (p.76-77). What
meaning does the bug in amber have to the rest of the story? |
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| Tips
on reading the book:
You may
find it helpful to read about the bombing campaigns of both the Allied
and Axis forces during the Second World War, and the American bombing raids
of Vietnam and the Gulf War. Think about what was gained and lost for both
sides.
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