The Intricately Woven Themes of Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

The Intricately Woven Themes of Slaughterhouse-Five At first glance Slaughterhouse-Five appears to bea simplistic story. It is a short account of a mansexperiences in adult male War II and the effects the war had onhis life. But by taking a deeper look intoSlaughterhouse-Five we see intricately woven themes,contrasts, and morals. Vonnegut has disguised a greatlecture against war and an acceptance of death by theidiocy and simplicity of Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut begins the novel with a warning. His firstchapter subtly warns us that Slaughterhouse-Five has been ticklish for him to produce. This one is a failure, hewrites, since it was written by a pillar of salt (22 ch.1). The irony of this statement is that by looking back in conviction Vonnegut accuses himself of idiocy, like Billy Pilgrim.Yet one of the main themes of the entire work is the bugsin amber or the existence of the past, present, and futureall a t once. In the unsolveding chapter he also humbles his workby telling us how it begins and ends, stressing thesucceeding theme. Billy Pilgrim is a master of disguise. He serves asa brainy mask that Vonnegut hides behind in order to get hismessages across without scaring readers away with boringlectures. Vonnegut wants us to accept life as it is and tounderstand that death is required and something we mustnot fear. He indirectly lets us know that this isa realization that he has come to in his own life, mostlikely through the war experience, and invites us to followin his footsteps. Through his humor and lightheartedness hedoes not force these ideas on us but helps us to open ourminds to new ways of perceiving our lives. As the king of