Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut: The Anti-War Sentiment

In Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five we observe multiple instances of post-colonialism and feminism as not much in the way of minorities or women is mentioned, this is true to itself, as in WWII combat was male-only role, generally white males. The book is told in a semi-autobiographical manner and a non-chronological order, it is told mainly through flashbacks in addition to time travel. This due to the main character being “unstuck” in time, travelling between periods of his life as he is unable to choose the point of arrival. The protagonist is called Billy Pilgrim, he is born in 1922 and hails from the fictional town of Ilium, New York. Billy does well in high school, he graduates and he decides to pursue his education at the Ilium School of Optometry. As WWII rolls around (as it casually does) Billy is drafted and begins training as a chaplain’s assistant. Billy Pilgrim believes he has been teleported to the fictional planet of Tralfamadore, where he is held in an alien zoo.

The author is a WWII veteran and he holds an anti-war, anti-violence sentiment. We can only imagine his perception as he had fought in the bloodiest war in human existence. The article is going to focus on the actions of the book and real-life implications as most of the following in the book might have or not have happened in real life. What we do know is Kurt Vonnegut survived The Battle of the Bulge and was later held in a slaughterhouse in Dresden, Germany, unfortunately, Vonnegut was imprisoned while the allies had commenced the bombing of Dresden, fortunately, Vonnegut escaped and lived a healthy life. The main focus of the book is the controversial bombing of the unarmed, non-militarized city of Dresden so late in the war, this theme resonates between the chapters as we feel the great anti-war sentiment the author holds in his heart.

In the fifth chapter, while the Americans are being rounded up, an altercation broke out between an American POW and a German guard. The POW had yelled profanities at the guard, without expecting to be heard nor understood. The guard turned out to speak English and hauled the POW and Knocked him to the floor. Afterwards, the POW asks the guard “why me?”. This where we view an instance of low profile post-colonialism as the german guard replies with “vy you, vy anybody?”. The instance clearly shows the reader that the hint of xenophobia still lies within the author even after the war. After this, we are introduced to billy lying in the hospital with his fiancée. As Billy is on the hospital bed talking with his fiancée as she eats multiple candy bars, he suddenly gets teleported to an alien zoo on the fictional planet of Tralfamadore. At this instance in time Billy is forty-four years old, he is being held under a geodesic dome that simulates the climate as well as the atmosphere that Billy would encounter on earth. Billy reclines on his chair as he watches the vast crowds of Tralfamadorians. He has been held in this dome for a while, precisely 6 human months, by this time had gotten used to the crowds, every Tralfamadorian yearns to lay his alien eyes on the human, it is his body they seek after all.