Written almost a century apart, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five were both met with controversy upon publication. Serving as criticisms of society of the day, they both SOMETHING. Victorian rigidity and the extravagance it fostered were the targets of Wilde’s criticisms, while Vonnegut’s anti-war stance was provocative at a time when the ongoing Vietnam War dominated the airwaves. Both explore the corruption of innocence as a result of societal influence, and were deemed immoral as a result. However, ‘the books that the world calls immoral’, wrote Wilde, ‘are books that show the world its own shame’ (Wilde 240). Writing in his own voice before introducing the novel’s protagonist, Vonnegut uses …show more content…
In a society where ‘people were highly original and scrupulously traditional, flamboyant and conventional, rebellious and patriotic’ (Gillespie 6), the likes of Lord Henry Wooton thrived. Wealth and indulgence defined their lives, and ‘the self-satisfaction of the age produced an obtuse disregard for social misery that allowed poverty and economic exploitation to flourish’ (4). Henry’s influence proved a corrupting force for Dorian, his warnings of the fragility of beauty paving the way for Dorian’s downfall. In manifesting that ‘his portrait should bear the burden of his days, and he keep the unsullied splendour of eternal youth’, Dorian forgoes all personal accountability (Wilde 243). Like Slaughterhouse’s Tralfamadorians, he ‘ignore[s] the awful times and concentrate[s] on the good ones’, living a life of immorality and excess (Vonnegut 51). It is not until his story begins its final chapter that the protagonist realises the gravity of his situation. Aware ‘that he had been an evil influence to others, and had experienced a terrible joy in being so’, Dorian begins to question if it is ‘really true that one could never change’ (Wilde 242). His perception of his life as one of excitement and glamour without regard for the blood and tears left in his wake echoes Mackay’s words on the tendency of romanticism to disregard suffering in favour of a starry-eyed ideal. Dorian’s lack of …show more content…
Mirroring their protagonists’ psychological states and worldviews, the authors’ narrative perspectives are significant. Vonnegut takes on the role of narrator in Slaughterhouse Five as an omniscient version of himself recounting the life of his semi-autobiographical protagonist. This further emphasises his detachment from his own experiences; in retelling his story through another character, he remains distant from it. As a result of the Tralfamadorians’ influence, Billy becomes ‘unstuck in time’, experiencing his life in scattered bursts, a young soldier one moment and an ageing father the next (Vonnegut 10). As Peter F. Parshall writes, ‘the very structure of the novel mitigates against detachment, for the horrors of World War II and of Dresden coexist with the present instant’ (52). This ’"telegraphic schizophrenic manner" of narration emphasises the illogicality of events and the helplessness of [the] characters’, a notable contrast to that of The Picture of Dorian Gray (50). The Picture of Dorian Gray is told by an omniscient narrator, enabling a reflection of Dorian’s true nature and serving as a moral compass. Additionally, the novel’s linear structure enhances the impact of Dorian’s gradual descent from a young man fearing ‘the idea of [his] soul being hideous’ to committing murder in the name of self-preservation (Wilde 110). Billy’s long-lost
Critics often suggest that Kurt Vonnegut’s novels represent a man’s desperate, yet, futile search for meaning in a senseless existence. Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, displays this theme. Kurt Vonnegut uses a narrator, which is different from the main character. He uses this technique for several reasons.
"In Slaughterhouse Five, -- Or the Children's Crusade, Vonnegut delivers a complete treatise on the World War II bombing of Dresden. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is a very young infantry scout* who is captured in the Battle of the Bulge and quartered in a Dresden slaughterhouse where he and other prisoners are employed in the production of a vitamin supplement for pregnant women. During the February 13, 1945, firebombing by Allied aircraft, the prisoners take shelter in an underground meat locker. When they emerge, the city has been levelled and they are forced to dig corpses out of the rubble. The story of Billy Pilgrim is the story of Kurt Vonnegut who was captured and survived the firestorm in which 135,000 German civilians perished, more than the number of deaths in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Robert Scholes sums up the theme of Slaughterhouse Five in the New York Times Book Review, writing: 'Be kind. Don't hurt. Death is coming for all of us anyway, and it is better to be Lot's wife looking back through salty eyes than the Deity that destroyed those cities of the plain in order to save them.' The reviewer concludes that 'Slaughterhouse Five is an extraordinary success. It is a book we need to read, and to reread.' "The popularity of Slaughterhouse Five is due, in part, to its timeliness; it deals with many issues that were vital to the late sixties: war, ecology, overpopulation, and consumerism. Klinkowitz, writing in Literary Subversions.New American Fiction and the Practice of Criticism, sees larger reasons for the book's success: 'Kurt Vonnegut's fiction of the 1960s is the popular artifact which may be the fairest example of American cultural change. . . . Shunned as distastefully low-brow . . . and insufficiently commercial to suit the exploitative tastes of high-power publishers, Vonnegut's fiction limped along for years on the genuinely democratic basis of family magazine and pulp paperback circulation. Then in the late 1960s, as the culture as a whole exploded, Vonnegut was able to write and publish a novel, Slaughterhouse Five, which so perfectly caught America's transformative mood that its story and structure became best-selling metaphors for the new age. '"Writing in Critique, Wayne D. McGinnis comments that in Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut 'avoids framing his story in linear narration, choosing a circular structure.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five is an anti-war book, focusing on the bombing in Dresden, Germany, and the author’s experience as a POW in WWII. Usually, a book with this theme would be difficult to read thoughtfully; it would be full of idealized war heroes, who saved hundreds of people from the “enemies.” Slaughterhouse Five is a book focusing on the less glamorous side of war. By focusing on his own experiences and not the main picture as most novels focusing on war do, I was able to connect more with some characters and themes.
One can only imagine the intense emotional scarring that one would suffer after exiting an underground shelter with a dozen other men to find a city destroyed and its people dead, corpses laying all around. These feelings are what prompted Kurt Vonnegut to write Slaughterhouse-Five as he did. The main character of this novel mirrors the author in many ways, but the striking similarity is their inability to deal with the events of Dresden on the night of February 13, 1945. Section Two- Critical Commentaries Kurt Vonnegut's work is nothing new to critics, but Slaughterhouse-Five is considered to be his best work.
Discrepancies in the overall picture of the bombing between Vonnegut’s firsthand experiences as a Dresden bombing survivor and historical fact is due to the common PTSD effect on the brain that leaves trauma victims with a memory dysfunction and is also a result of using the inaccurate nonfiction book, The Destruction of Dresden, by David Irving as a source for factual data in Slaughterhouse Five. The deliberately inserted effects of trauma on Billy Pilgrim throughout Slaughterhouse Five are observable through Vonnegut’s initial creation of the Tralfamadorians, as Billy chooses to use his abduction and experience of all tenses of time at once as a distraction from his traumatic memory of Dresden, skipping around through his memories to indirectly relive the disturbing bombing. The phrase “so it goes” is utilized to understate the upsetting tasks and choices Billy is forced to make in the war and bombing, justifying any unfair collateral damage as a simple fact of life. Billy believes that the cycle of life includes paramount negativity amidst any happy memories, accepting a lackluster and monotonous view of life, one he adopts after experiencing the bombing. Vonnegut’s outlook on life is similar to Billy’s, as he continues to use Billy as persona for himself. These proven examples of the lasting effect of the trauma of the bombing of Dresden allow the assumption that Vonnegut uses Billy Pilgrim’s character as a way to cope with his personal trauma confirms that the line between author and character is significantly blurred throughout the novel, although sometimes deliberate, as the autobiographical elements of the novel influence and meld
One of the most devastating and forgotten battles of World War II was the battle of Dresden. The book Slaughterhouse Five, narrated by Kurt Vonnegut, attempts to describe the war and its destructiveness. The war provides no advantages to the lives of soldiers and in some ways destroys the mind of the soldier as well. Billy after the war is deceptively successful. He has a good job and a family, while in reality he has no connection with his kids, and most of the time cannot express what is on his mind. The destructiveness of war shown throughout the book causes much harm to the lives of civilians and soldiers after the war.
Slaughterhouse Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut is an anti war novel told by the narrator who is a minor character in the story. Slaughterhouse-Five is the story of Billy Pilgrim, a man who has come "unstuck in time. "The bombing of Dresden is what destroyed Billy. Dresden’s destruction shows the destruction of people who fought in the war: the all the people who died. Some people, like the main character, Billy Pilgrim, are not able to function normally like before because of what they saw, because of their experience. Throughout the book, Billy starts hallucinating about his experiences with the Tralfamadorians: he wants to escape the world which was destroyed by war, a war that he does not and cannot understand. Vonnegut uses the technique of repetition.. The main repetition is “so it goes” which is told after anything related to death, he also uses other repetitions throughout the book. The major theme of the story is the Destructiveness of War. Vonnegut uses repetition to reinforce the theme of the story.
Slaughterhouse Five is not a book that should be glanced over and discarded away like a dirty rag. Slaughterhouse Five is a book that should be carefully analyzed and be seen as an inspiration to further improve the well-being of mankind. Vonnegut makes it clear that an easy way to improve mankind is to see war not as a place where legends are born, but rather, an event to be avoided. Intelligent readers and critics alike should recognize Vonnegut’s work and see to it that they make an effort to understand the complexities behind the human condition that lead us to war.
In Slaughterhouse-five Vonnegut’s uses a satirical writing style to portray his anti-war belief, showing the effect war can have on people. Roland Weary and Edgar Darby two of Billy Pilgrim’s friends are dead, this leaves him cynical and dead inside. Vonnegut did not want to write a novel that glorified war and as he promised “there won’t be a part for Frank Sinatra or John Wayne” (15). Slaughterhouse-five also conveys the idea of free will and predestination through the Characters. Billy is used as an example of the exact opposite of Vonnegut’s personal views. Billy’s Tralfamadorian belief that everything is pre-determined from his birth and there is no point in attempting to change anything since everything is meaningless. Vonnegut uses the sad supposedly meaningless life of Billy to demonstrate the dangers of quietism. He wants to show readers that they should make an effort to change, in turn changing their world and their future. Although Vonnegut’s tone is pessimistic, he successfully illustrates a sense of optimism and the belief in people to successfully change the world in which they live and that life is not meaningless no matter what traumas a person has
Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols, and plot. However, a close examination reveals that both contain common themes and ideas. Examining and comparing the two novels and their presentation of different themes provides a unique insight into both the novels and the author – allowing the reader to gain a fuller understanding of Vonnegut’s true meaning.
Earnest Hemmingway once said "Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." (Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Reference) War is a gruesome and tragic thing and affects people differently. Both Vonnegut and Hemmingway discus this idea in their novels A Farewell to Arms and Slaughterhouse Five. Both of the novels deal not only with war stories but other genres, be it a science fiction story in Vonnegut’s case or a love story in Hemingway’s. Despite all the similarities there are also very big differences in the depiction of war and the way the two characters cope with their shocking and different experiences. It is the way someone deals with these tragedies that is the true story. This essay will evaluate how the main characters in both novels deal with their experiences in different ways.
Slaughterhouse-Five, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut, follows the story of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II soldier who becomes unstuck in time, experiencing different moments of his life in a non-linear fashion. Additionally, Billy is abducted by Tralfamadorians, aliens with a different perception of time, influencing Billy with their beliefs. In the novel, Kurt Vonnegut uses a unique structure, incorporating a non-linear narrative. The nonlinear structure of the novel shows Vonnegut s process of dealing with his own PTSD by reflecting the disorientation and trauma experienced by veterans of war, while also showing the power of storytelling as a means of healing. Kurt Vonnegut uses Billy Pilgrim s time-traveling experiences to portray PTSD effects on
Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five, uses the biblical allusion of Lot’s wife looking back on the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to parallel the story of Billy Pilgrim during the war and his experience after, when he returns to the United States. Although the reference is brief, it has profound implications to the portrayal of America during World War II, especially the bombing of Dresden. Although Lot’s wife’s action dooms her to turn into a pillar of salt, the narrator emphasizes her choice to indicate the importance of being compassionate and having hindsight. Ultimately, Slaughterhouse-Five critiques the American social attitude to disregard the unjust nature of its actions in World War II. Furthermore, Vonnegut’s novel explicates this by elucidating the horrors of war—especially in regard to the massacre of innocence, how it leaves the soldiers stagnant when they return home, and leaves them empty with an American Dream that cannot be fulfilled. In order to combat violence, the novel stresses that one must hold human life to a higher value and be compassionate towards others; America must acknowledge its mistakes so that the soldiers who fought and died for her so that the soldiers may move on.
When Dorian Gray first meets Lord Henry at the studio of artist Basil Hallward, he is fascinated with Lord Henry’s wit and the radical social doctrines that he advocates. Dorian is easily molded and falls for the argument he hears. According to Lord Henry the goal of new hedonism, “to realize one’s nature perfectly…to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream” (198-199). As far as philosophies go this seems rather innocuous until Lord Henry goes on to clarify that, “every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us…the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing” (199). Lord Henry’s advice entices the malleable Dorian, who does not seem to realize that Lord Henry may advocate giving in to every impulse, even the destructive ones, but he does not follow this advice himself. As Basil Hallward informs Lord Henry, “you never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing. Your cynicism is simply a pose” (188). Dorian, however, takes Lord Henry’s advice concerning new hedonism at face value and the results are disastrous.
In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naïve boy to a destructive monster.