Slaughterhouse Five
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Chapter 10: Poo-tee-weet?
Chapter 10: Simile
Chapter 9: the Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
When I first read this prayer, the thoughts or ideas in the prayer seems to almost be clustered. I had to break it down to truly understand its meaning. First, we are asking for comfort to accept things that cannot be changed, which is pretty straight forward. This is very comparable to the "bugs in amber" symbolism that we are stuck in the moment and cannot change it. The next line asks for the courage to change things that I can. People go through the problem of being scared to make changes in their life that can better them as a person. The last line is confusing in asking for the wisdom to know the difference between the two. After reading the line again, it is important to know the difference so people do not waste time on unchangeable problems, etc. It is kind evident that Kurt Vonnegut believes in the meaning of the prayer, and it is shown throughout the novel.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Chapter 9: Symbol
While reading further in the chapter, I started to think of the odd wagon and what was its purpose. Then I realized its meaning. I believe the wagon symbolizes that even though it may seem like a time of happiness, being the victor of war, the survivors of the war still suffered symbolic death. The death of their feeling of living a meaningful life. The death of the innocence of the "babies" that had fought in the war. Billy did not grasp the emptiness of victory in war until he sees the condition of the horses, which are pitiful.
In conclusion, the green coffin-shaped wagon had a deeper purpose in symbolizing death of the survivors in several ways. Vonnegut, throughout the novel, has been trying to show that war is pointless, and death will be suffered even by the winning side. This green wagon is Vonnegut's way of demonstrating this theme.
Chapter 8: Time Travel
Billy's ability to see consequences is the important part of his time travel. Humanity doesn't see the "whole picture". Humanity doesn't understand the consequences of their actions. Vonnegut's thought is that, if humans could see, or would think about the "whole picture", they wouldn't do things like bomb the city of Dresden, treat each other cruelly, etc. Vonnegut uses the Tralfamadorian view of their lives, and Billy's time travelling, to demonstrate this point. He criticizes humans with the hope that we will learn to behave better.
This was a topic that I had difficulties understanding and had to research. After reading on this topic, it actually makes a lot sense and is a great theme for the novel.
Chapter 8: Extended Metaphor
All in all, chapter eight was interesting in how Vonnegut tells the reader about the Dresden bombings.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Chapter 7: So It Goes
I hope the quality of the post will overshadow the quantity. Anyways, on to chapter eight!
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