3 Review(s)

Using humour and satire, Slaughterhouse-Five: Or The Children’s Crusade, A Duty-Dance With Death 2nd Edition talks about the horrors of war while simultaneously drawing attention to its absurdities through the eyes of the protagonist Billy Pilgrim. Summary Of The Book Slaughterhouse-Five: Or The Children’s Crusade, A Duty-Dance With Death 2nd Edition is the story of Billy Pilgrim, an ill-trained American soldier and his experience in World War II. War is inevitable, and it is absurd. The main theme of the book focuses on this. Billy Pilgrim is a prisoner-of-war at the hands of the Germans. He is captured and put in a disused slaughterhouse, which eventually proves to be a safe ‘shelter’ when his life is spared during the bombing of Dresden. Billy is a fatalist. Barely out of childhood, his lack of enthusiasm for war and the eventual consequences of the war on his life is what makes up the story of Billy’s life. Vonnegut uses Billy to show that war is unnecessarily glorified, due to which people overlook the real tragedies and trauma that war actually brings with it. Billy’s journey through time and space, his accounts of the bombing at Dresden, and his life as a prisoner of war, all highlight the central theme in the novel, war is nothing but another form of hell. Dark humour and irony is what makes Slaughterhouse-Five: Or The Children’s Crusade, A Duty-Dance With Death 2nd Edition unique and a perfect example of creative accomplishment. It conveys  the bitterness of war, while providing comic relief along with crucial understanding of the working of the human mind. Published in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five: Or The Children’s Crusade, A Duty-Dance With Death 2nd Edition is considered to one of the greatest English language novels of the 20th century. A film adaptation of the book was made in 1972 to much critical acclaim, winning the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and a Hugo and Saturn Award. About Kurt Jr. Vonnegut American novelist and essayist Kurt Vonnegut is considered to be one of the greatest contributors to 20th century literature. His other well-known, popular works include Cat’s Cradle, The Sirens Of Titan, and Breakfast Of Champions. Known for his humanist beliefs which are seen in a number of his works, Vonnegut specialized in satire, dark humour, and science fiction that were aided by his incomparable imagination. Born in Indiana to German-American parents, Vonnegut was a soldier and a prisoner-of-war during World War II and his experiences in the battlefield was the inspiration for many of his works.