Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. Since the main character, billy pilgrim, travels through time, we jump from 1944 to 1967 to billys childhood and back again. This is our monkeynotes downloadable and printable book summarybooknotessynopsis for slaughterhouse five by kurt vonnegut, jr. Slaughterhousefive, or the childrens crusade the new. Test your knowledge on this literature quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. A novel modern library 100 best novels paperback january 12, 1999. Knowing that vonnegut wrote the book has a satire is perhaps a reason for why slaughterhouse five has so many absurd moments. I love to know the word counts of books and essays. Slaughterhousefive the canadian center of science and. Slaughterhousefive is an extremely entertaining read, and an important book for teen readers to explore more deeply in a classroom setting.
Slaughterhousefive is still being banned in schools. These are all of the sources used in the making of these papers and articles. After the war billy makes a great deal of money as an optometrist, and on his wedding night he is kidnapped by a flying saucer from the planet tralfamadore. Its hard to summarize the plot of slaughterhousefive neatly. As wilfrid sheed has pointed out, billys solution to the problems of the. Slaughterhousefive book summaries, test preparation. I read slaughterhouse 5 when i was 11 and from then on, i had a period when i read only kurt vonnegut jrs works. In kurt vonneguts novel slaughterhouse five, however, time travel does not seem so helpful. Im not sure if theres an answer, but the question certainly heightens the books effects.
Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be. Slaughterhousefive was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a bestseller 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. 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. Har don loved kurt vonnegut no, he worshipped kurt vonnegut. A novel and millions of other books are available for instant access. The work was first published in 1969, and its considered an american classic. I do plan to reread the book in the future to hopefully understand it better, but i did not get it the first time. Centering on the infamous world war ii firebombing of dresden, the novel is the result of what vonnegut describes as a twentythreeyear struggle to write a book about what he himself witnessed as an american prisoner of war. Slaughterhouse five was a book that i have been wanting to read for a long time but after reading it for this class the book didnt really grab me in any sort of way. Most of the time, an overly long word count is a symptom of major plot or pacing problems in a novel issues that need to be solved during the revision process. Slaughterhousefive, an american classic, is one of the worlds great antiwar books.
And its not just the internet connection thats the problem. Catch22, like slaughterhousefive, was a novel about the second world war that. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. How juxtapositions and structure are represented in slaughterhouse five and pans labyrinth guillermo del toros film pans labyrinth and kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five mirror each other in that fact that both feature a main character who struggles to accept the realities of war, but the works vary in various ways. The story is told in a nonlinear order, and events become clear through flashbacks. Much of life, just like the novel, unfolds without a sense of cause and effectlike an accident. Thats longer than wikipedias estimation of the typical novel length, but just about right. When discussing the reading experience of slaughterhouse five i would say it was a better experience that the reading experience i had with girl on the train. We provide as many of our worksheets and organizers as possible in word format to f.
And billy had seen the greatest massacre in european history, which was the firebombing of dresden. Whats important to remember is that a word count that exceeds industry standards is not merely an arbitrary reason for publishers and agents to refuse a query or pitch. Slaughterhousefive blurs time and increases the power. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. As a prisoner of war, vonnegut survived the american bombing of dresden, germany. It is an absurd look at war, memory, time, and humanity, but it is also gentle. Slaughterhousefive is like a wordy version of a scavenger hunt, where you have to search through the whole book to find the clues youre looking for. Famous quotes from slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut. The slaughter house five, book reports, free essays. Billy pilgrim, vonneguts main character, has come unstuck in time. In the opening chapter of slaughterhouse five, kurt vonnegut recounts his being unable to write a war book about the dresden firebombing february 15, 1945, which he survived. A dutydance with death is a science fictioninfused antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, first published in 1969. 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.
One reads slaughterhousefive with that question crouched on the brink of ones awareness. I mention vietnam because, although slaughterhouse five is a book about the second world war, vietnam is also a presence in its pages, and peoples feelings about vietnam have a good deal. I seen horses get shot wrong and get right back up and walk around the kill floor, kind of dazed. After repeated and failed attempts to start his dresden book, vonnegut finally began what would become slaughterhousefive during a twoyear teaching stint at the university of iowa writers. The epigraph appears just before the first page of the book, but we only get direct comments on what it means in. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in slaughterhouse five, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. He serves as a chaplains assistant in world war ii, is captured by the germans, and he survives the largest massacre in european history the fire bombing of dresden. 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. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. It was in that spirit, he said, that he assigned slaughterhouse five and a second contemporary novel, james dickeys deliverance. A summary of chapter 10 in kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive. Not many seem to have the problem i do, which is ive reached just over 41,000 words. Slaughterhouse five background information, questions for discussion and writing by chapter, and related titles. Breakfast of champions is the first book vonnegut the author of many sciencefiction novels wrote after slaughterhouse five had made him famous. On vonnegut, objectification of women, and other good. Great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. In his novel slaughterhousefive, kurt vonnegut embarks on a journey. In chapter 1 of slaughterhouse five why does the narrator like the taxi drivers line if the accident will. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing.
Trouts fictional novel within slaughterhousefive explores the journey of a. Selected by the modern library as one of the 100 best novel. Kurt vonnegut, slaughterhousefive ive read slaughterhousefive several times and im still not sure i know exactly how vonnegut pulls it off. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time.
Word counts and other distractions griffin paul jackson. Slaughterhousefive is an antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut. A dutydance with death 1969 is a satirical novel by kurt vonnegut about world war ii experiences and journeys through time of a chaplains assistant named billy pilgrim. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade. Death and time in slaughterhousefive we all wish we could travel through time, going back to correct our stupid mistakes or zooming ahead to see the future. Slaughterhouse five kurt vonnegut my junior year of college, i had a roommate, don, his nickname was har don which he hated. It is generally recognized as vonneguts most influential and popular work. One common feeling that can be found in slaughterhouse five, is the overall absurdity found in the novel. 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. Slaughterhouse five is an attempt by the author, kurt vonnegut, jr. Its ironic since everything don believed in was the antithesis of what vonnegut stood for.
Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. Monkeynotes study guides download storedownloadable study guides book summary, book notes,notes,chapter summarysynopsis. The theme of war and death in slaughterhousefive from. Back to subjects book reports the slaughter house five. Slaughterhousefive project gutenberg selfpublishing. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. I seen them shoot them five times, hit them all in the eye.
A summary of chapter 2 in kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. The presence of the narrator in slaughterhouse five. Predestination and free will in slaughterhouse five. Slaughter house five by kurt vonnegut, 9780440180296, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Since the point of a satire is to bring attention to societys problems, vonnegut is. It is an antiwar book about the firebombings of the german town of dresden. Kurt vonnegut, the author of slaughterhouse five was present at the fire bombings, and the story was actually based. Slaughterhousefive slaughterhouse 5 by kurt vonnegut.
Slaughterhousefive questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on slaughterhousefive. Slaughterhousefive kindle edition by vonnegut, kurt. Can you name the characters of kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of slaughterhousefive and what it means. How does one even find the words to write about it. What kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive tells us now. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. 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. Jose farmer took a trout story written by vonnegut and expanded it to novel length. In slaughterhouse five, the main idea of the story is world war ii, and its also a significant part of the setting. I am writing a paper comparing beloved and slaughterhouse five. Semiautobiographical in nature, the novel is drawn from the vonneguts wartime experiences in world war ii. Dakota town dumfounded at criticism of book burning by.
What kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive tells us now the. On vonnegut, objectification of women, and other good stuff posted on august 28, 2010 by dragonhelix i recently finished mother night, a kurt vonnegut novel about a nazi propagandist during the holocaust who was really an american spy, but who furthered the nazi cause unbelievably as part of his cover. In 2011, wesley scroggins, an assistant professor at missouri state university, called on the republic, mo school board to ban vonneguts novel. Death and time in slaughterhousefive essay 804 words cram. I loved the book, dont get me wrong, but i might be missing a deeper meaning. 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. Slaughterhouse five by kurt vonnegut is our book for march this wildly imaginative novel is 50 years old this month, which is all the excuse well need to turn to this hilarious.
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