A Comparison Of Slaughterhouse-Five And The Book Thief

Introduction:

The Book Thief and Slaughterhouse Five have many similarities but also differences throughout the books. Both books are about war and telling the story, but how the authors tell is very different. Death is present in each book and talked about throughout out, in The Book Thief, Death is the narrator and takes us through time as the war is going on. Slaughterhouse Five is very different, death is something Billy, the main characters does not show feelings towards, he is able to move on very quickly. Death is portrayed and shown very differently with the use of narrators, characters and themes throughout The Book Thief and Slaughterhouse Five.

Support 1: The Book Thief

Throughout The Book Thief, “Death” is who leads us through

the book as the narrator, Death isn’t just there but has real feelings and shows them. We are able to see how he changes and grows in the book. (Personification)
“at some point on time I will be standing over you, as genially as possible.

Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.” (1.12)

Death is shown to be something very hard for the characters that they must learn to accept, it isn't overlooked throughout the book, in the end though it of course is inevitable. Personification is used with showing that “death” is the narrator and is always present and affecting everyone in different ways throughout the book.

Characters in The Book Thief, show that death is present everywhere for them, and adapt to situations.

"Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from words." (253)

Liesel is calling llsa Hermann pathetic and telling her to get over the death of her son, she then realizes later on the power of her words and how they effect everyone differently

Everyone takes death differently and in this book, the characters show that it isn't overlooked and it affects

everyone.

Support 2: Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut shows death throughout Slaughterhouse Five very different than The Book Thief, Irony is used to show the impact of war on people.
“Edgar survives the misery of the firebombing of Dresden only to be executed for a trivial "crime”
Irony is showed throughout the whole book, Derby, someone who survived the whole war, and the bombing of Dresden is later tried for stealing a pot, by the end of the novel Derby is shot and killed, this is showing that death is inevitable through irony and death throughout Slaughterhouse Five is overlooked.

Billy, the main character in Slaughterhouse Five uses repetition is to show the impact of war on people.

“So It Goes”

This phrase is repeated at least 100 times, every time someone dies, Billy says that and immediately moves on and doesn't mourn of that loss.

This is showing the resentment of all the people dying throughout the war and how it's becomes a “normal” when people are passing. Characters aren't being affected nor do they spend time mourning, because of the Tralfamadorian timeline Billy is able to move past it all and keep telling his story.

Support 3: Theme of Mortality in Slaughterhouse Five and The Book Thief

Mortality in The Book Thief and Slaughterhouse Five is a major theme throughout each of the books, but each are represented differently.

In The Book Thief, mortality is happening all around, in the beginning of the book, death, tells us all the characters we will grow to love will soon die shortly after. Death isn't over looked at mortality is something the readers will have to learn to realize as the book

progresses
“...one opportunity leads directly to another, just as risk leads to more risk, life to more life, and death to more death.”
Mark Zusak is trying to tell the readers that death is cycle, and in the war, it is constantly a cycle of killing. We are shown that death is to be inevitable, we can’t do anything about it except celebrate others lives.

Slaughterhouse Five is very different, mortality is also happening constantly but, Billy, brushes it off and leaves it in the dark, this makes the readers see where Billy is coming from and how the war has affected him. With mortality its makes the readers think, is dying easier than living? Vonnegut uses, satire and Billy's story to create and show the readers the pain soldiers endure and what is constantly going through their head by the end of the war.
“Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.”
Billy had been through so much and Vonnegut, was using satire to show us, that on Billy’s tombstone this allowed him to stop suffering from the war and allow him to be peaceful after everything had happened. He is finally “free” of this world and
allowed to stop suffering.

Conclusion:
The Book Thief and Slaughterhouse Five are both very different books, but in the end have the same lesson the narrator is trying to show. Death is huge in each book, In The Book Thief, death is present as the narrator, though he isn't killing people, he is explaining and helping the readers go through the book. In Slaughterhouse Five, death is showed through Billy after the war in the Tralfamadorian Time with the use of satire. Death is portrayed differently throughout The Book Thief and Slaughterhouse Five with the use of narrators, characters and the theme of mortality to create a WWII story that teaches the readers the pain soldiers went through.