Well!! We know that the world ends because of an explosion for which the Tralfamadorians are responsible. When I was reading the novel, I felt as if many scenes could lead on to a climax. For this post, I wanted to list all these possible situations..
1. We all remember Billy being thrown into the swimming pool so that he learns how to either through swim or sink method. Well what if a transition occurs when he sinks down, light slowly diminishing, and he feels painless. Then there is a smooth transitions to when Billy is in the shower in one of the prison camps for he was lost in the moment.
2. We see Billy Pilgrim warming up under a blanket for the furnace has broken down, we see Billy complaining of his bossy daughter with her Edwardian piano like legs, he feels as if he was a zoo animal trapped and he could remove the blanket to see his son, Robert, staring hysterically into empty space in his bedroom....
3. Lake Placid Mental Institute, 1948, Billy is placed in morphine for people thought he went crazy during his final year at the Ilium School of Optometry!!!He is placed near Eliot Rosewater who fantasizes Kilgore Trout's creation. We are told of their wild adventures discussing the various science-fiction stories of Trout, a robot with bad breath, a tree which grows money and so on... We can then smoothly jump to 1948, three years after the war in the veterans' hospital, where he is pretends to be happy about seeing his future wife, Valencia.
Wee see a lot of transitions between postwar and prewar episodes which Vonnegut ties it in flawlessly into the narrative.
4. He is travelling on a train back in 1944 to attend his father's funeral in Ilium. The trains were slow, he was disgusted by the poor conditions..He got to sleep peacefully three hours from Ilium..This moment of silence and calm can be connected to another similar moment which occurs when he sleeps peacefully standing up along with the hobo for they were both not permitted to sit within the boxcar.
By:Parvathy
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Vonnegut's life...
Slaughterhouse-five was bashed, criticized, evaluated, and frowned upon by many for its negative themes, and political views. I think that this is a masterpiece of a genius whose perspective on life and war sets him from the rest for he was not taught Shakespeare or contemporary literature. Traces of his life answers the questions which puzzles the readers of Slaughterhouse-five.
Steps..
1. He was born in Indiana, Indianapolis to Kurt Vonnegut Sr, and Edith Lieber on November 11, 1922. He had a German background which was ironic for he ridiculed his country men in the novel for he was not proud of his family history. His father attended the Institute of Technology in Massachusetts (Architecture).
2. He attended the Cornell University and majored in Chemistry. I think his unique perspective comes from his inexperience in the literary world for he never planned to be an author. During his education at Cornell, he enlisted in the US army.
3. He was captured in the Battle of Bulge on December 19, 1944 and around that time, his mother committed suicide. I think the guilt that evolved from his absence when his mother needed him prompted him to focus on the concept of death which is evident in the novel. We see Valencia dying in an accident while hurrying to reunite with Billy who has survived a plane crash, we see Roland Weary die of gangrene, Wild Bob and the hob has the same fate, his accomplices in the plane along with his father-in-law, Edgar Derby, the two scouts who were a part of the Three Musketeers, the Tralfamadorians die for the world is destroyed. This focus on death, I think explains his mentality as if he is wishing or planning for his inevitable death as an act of forgiveness. His insecurity as a child, and his helplessness when his mother passed away fired his sense of grief and remorse.
4. He witnessed the fire bombing of Dresden which is very evident in the novel and the extremes of the war is evident as "there were too many corpses to bury. So instead the Germans sent in troops with flamethrowers. All these civilians' remains were burned to ashes."
5. After the war, he attended the University of Chicago (Anthropology), and the University accepted one of his novels as thesis for his original one was rejected.
6. He was then offered a teaching occupation at the University of Iowa (1950s), and it was during that time he started to write Slaughterhouse-five, his life changing novel.
7. In 1960, he married Jane Marie Cox, but the couple divorced in 1970. He later remarried Jill Krementz, and this unorthodoxy is revisited in the novel when he engages in a relationship with Montana Wildhack after leaving Valencia.
All these individual moments in his life shaped him, and therefore Billy Pilgrim, for I consider a Vonnegut as a genius who raises numerous questions for which answers are limited.
By:Parvathy
6. He was then offered a teaching occupation at the University of Iowa (1950s), and it was during that time he started to write Slaughterhouse-five, his life changing novel.
7. In 1960, he married Jane Marie Cox, but the couple divorced in 1970. He later remarried Jill Krementz, and this unorthodoxy is revisited in the novel when he engages in a relationship with Montana Wildhack after leaving Valencia.
All these individual moments in his life shaped him, and therefore Billy Pilgrim, for I consider a Vonnegut as a genius who raises numerous questions for which answers are limited.
By:Parvathy
Friday, April 1, 2011
THE WARPS... I COUNTED IT
Let's see, ever since this year started, time is one thing I never had. The assignments, projects and everything else.... Well, we were introduced to a different outlook on time and how structured a moment is!!!!!!!!! Tralfamadorians belive that human's believe in free will and see one moment at a time. Well, we do! Tralfamadorians, on the other hand, see an entire stretch of events laid out infront of them and they take it for as it is as we are all bugs trapped in amber.
Tralfamadorians think humans see through a pipe which extends and they cannot interpret curves or other twists and turns in their life. The narrative jumps around everyhwere from wedding nights to wars, from the optometrist's office to the Grand Canyon, from the prison camp to the veteran's hospital, from Ilium to Dresden............
I agree with the fact that Vonnegut used the phrase "time warp" and "time travel" to connect the passing of various moments in his life but I was curious to see how many times Billy warped in time according to Vonnegut (and what is revealed to the audience)?
The WARPS:
(italics-taken from the text; my interpretation of the situation)
1. Billy became first unstuck in time while WW2 was in progress. He was a chaplain's assistant! - Billy describes his uselessness with the title as the assistant. A reference is given as Billy having no friends, and how he practices a meek faith which correlates with Howard W. Campbell's description of the American military and its citizens.
Billy was given an emergency furlough home because his father was shot dead by a friend while they were hunting deers. One of his time warps relates to his adventure back on a train to visit his father for a last time. The narrative and one of the time warps connect, which can be an evidence that this might be the imagination of one of the greatest's minds or the darkest humor portrayed by Vonnegut.
2. He obeyed orders to go overseas to Luxembourg. This was in December of 1944, during the last German attack of the war. The audience is introduced to the hopelessness of war where soldiers are poorly equipped; Billy was not issued a steel helmet and combat boots. The Three Musketeers unwillingly welcome Billy who should not have joined the war....Billy Pilgrim who looked like a filthy flamingo survived an enemy attack with the help of Roland Weary for Billy wanted to die amidst the cold, hunger, and the incompetence for he repeated, "You guys go on without me!"
He moves on after the attack, and stops at a forest. He was leaning with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. His attention passed from life to death, which was violet light (p 43).
3. And then he swung into life again and stopped. He was a little boy taking a shower with his hairy father at Ilium YMCA.
4. He traveled in time to 1965. He was 41 years old and visiting his ailing mother at Pine Knoll, an old people's home. His mother inquires, "How did I get so old?"
5. He traveled in time to 1958 where he was at a banquet in honor of a Little League team of which his son Robert was a member.
6. He blinked and traveled to 1961, at a New Year's Eve and he was heavily drunk. His unorthodoxy to Valencia is evident when he involves himself with another woman.
7. Billy finds himself back in WW2 and was being shaken by Weary. Billy was dragged and flattened by Weary who wanted to be deemed heroic. Billy hallucinated of wearing clean and dry shoes which emphasized the anti-heroic and tragic side of war.
8. His hallucinations leads him to the Chinese restaurant in Ilium of 1957. He was elected President of the Lions Club and he was asked to speak which he does!
9. He was back with Weary who was going to beat him up if he did not wake up. Weary continues to hit Billy but notices the German soldiers who were witnessing the scene. Both Billy and Weary are captured and are kept as prisoners in a stone cottage and Billy falls asleep.
10. He wakes up in his optometry office in Ilium. He seems disoriented as his female patient inquires whether he is fine.
11. He closes his eyes to be waken up by Germans for falling asleep with the other war prisoners. The soldiers marched and photos were taken of them as evidence to show how miserably equipped American soldiers were.
12. He warps in time to 1967, and on his way to the Lions Club luncheon meeting, and he passed streets which looked like Dresden after the attack, and then he listens to the interpretation of a Marine officer about the Vietnam War. The Major told that Robert's group, the Green Berets, were doing great and that he ought to be proud.
13. Back in war. Continued walking until they reached Germany where they were regrouped according to status and packed in boxcars. He intervenes with Wild Bob who later dies, and he witnesses the unclean and unhygienic side of war but Wild Bob mentions that he has seen worse.
14. He traveled in time to 1967. Prepares to be captured by Tralfamadorians! He watches a movie backwards. He enters the saucer and he bombards them with Earthling questions!
15. The acceleration of the saucer pushed Billy back into the boxcar crossing Germany. The conditions were pathetic, and Weary dies and mentions his murderer BILLY! He reaches the camp and is told to take off his clothes. We are introduces to Edgar Derby and Paul Lazzaro. Their clothes were being cleaned!!
16. He zooms back to infancy. He was bathes by his mother and he feels the comfort which he compares to the present drastic environment.
17. He is then a middle-aged optometrist who was playing golf. He went out to take the ball out of the cup...
18. He was strapped to s chair in the flying SAUCER to TRALFAMADORE! They explain the Earthling's perspective on time and free will for they have been observing our species. He reads the Tralfamadorian novel, where the life is laid out as a stretch!
19. He took a trip to the Canyon. His insecurity as a child is evident when he feels afraid and longs for his family's protection.
19. He takes another trip to Carlsbad Caverns.
20. He found himself back in the war, and he was off the shower. He got his clothes back and put on the coat. Germans laughed at his appearance. The British men were eager and pleasant. They made war look stylish and fun. They were welcoming to American prisoners and put on a play (Cinderella) for the guests. Billy laughed too much and was then put on morphine and placed in the prisoner's hospital.
21. He had a hallucination where he considered him a giraffe and later falls asleep.
22. He woke up in the veterans' hospital near Lake Placid, New York (springtime, 1948). He was placed there for being crazy when he was enrolled in the Ilium School of Optometry. He meets Eliot Rosewater who has a collection of science fiction and he introduces Billy to Kilgore Trout. They both found life meaningless and putrid and was trying to reinvent themselves. Billy avoids his smoking mother who was welcomed by Eliot! They discuss of Valencia, Billy's bargain for a good life.
23. Derby was waiting with Billy in the prisoner's hospital and the Englishmen renders credit to him for being alive.
24. Travels back to veterans' hospital and inquires whether his mother had left and meets with Valencia even though unwillingly.
25. Billy travels in time to the zoo in Tralfamadore. He was 44 years old and was displayed naked for the aliens were all curious and waiting outside of the zoo. His questions about time and peace are answered by them.
26. He then time warps to his wedding night with Valencia.
27. He travels back to the prison hospital again, and encounters the dark face of the American soldiers.
28. He then time travels to his night with Valencia again.
29. He then jumps to his train ride to attend his father's funeral.
Meanwhile Lazzaro is brought to the prison hospital after trying to steal an Englishman's belonging. We are introduced to Campbell's speech as per the guard translating.
30. He then travels in time to 1968 to the present where Barbara scolds him for acting childish.
31. After Barbara left, he time travels to the zoo in Tralfamadore, and Montana was brought for him. We learn about their relationship.
32. He returns to the present but goes on to practice and sees the patient. People consider him to be ill because of his odd behavior in retelling the tales of Tralfamadorians to the patient.
33. He travels back to the prison hospital, and we are introduced to Lazzaro's hit list.
34. He then experiences his death as he foresaw through his Tralfamadorian experience.
35. He swings back into life again, back to 1945 after his life was threatened by Lazzaro. They were asked to meet other prisoners in the theater for an election. They left for Dresden. They reached the Slaughterhouse-five after overcoming the terrain and the extreme.
36. He travels to 1975 (25 years later) where he encounters an expected plane crash as told by the Tralfamadorians.
37. He then closes his eyes to travel back to 1944. He is back with Weary and wants to give up this pursuit.
Meanwhile, he is taken to a small private hospital and he dreamed a million things!
38. He thought of his first day after reaching Dresden, and the work Derby and him did before Dresden was bombed. Campbell was a visitor and they took refuge on a locker while Dresden was being bombed.
39. He woke up to see Barbara arguing!
40. He retaliates his meeting with Trout in 1964.
41. He traveled back to the night Dresden was destroyed. (177)
42. He travels to the zoo where Montana is placed.
He relives the Dresden bombing and how he took refuge under the enemies (German innkeeper). We are told of his encounters with Rumfoord in the private hospital. He then is visited by his daughter.
43. He traveled in time to when he was 16 years old, in a doctor's waiting room (189).
44. He traveled back in time after the Dresden bombing. They were looking for souvenirs of the war (194).
45. He then sees himself as an optometrist.
46. He then traveled to his private hospital in Vermont. He was then taken by his daughter (201).
During this scene, we are aware of Billy's conscious decision to announce the Tralfamadorian ways of living to the world. He goes on to the book store.
47. He is later back in Tralfamadore with Montana Wildhack and we see the same prayer as in his optometrist's office.
The narrative goes on to describe the aftermath of the Dresden bombing!
By:PARVATHY
Tralfamadorians think humans see through a pipe which extends and they cannot interpret curves or other twists and turns in their life. The narrative jumps around everyhwere from wedding nights to wars, from the optometrist's office to the Grand Canyon, from the prison camp to the veteran's hospital, from Ilium to Dresden............
I agree with the fact that Vonnegut used the phrase "time warp" and "time travel" to connect the passing of various moments in his life but I was curious to see how many times Billy warped in time according to Vonnegut (and what is revealed to the audience)?
The WARPS:
(italics-taken from the text; my interpretation of the situation)
1. Billy became first unstuck in time while WW2 was in progress. He was a chaplain's assistant! - Billy describes his uselessness with the title as the assistant. A reference is given as Billy having no friends, and how he practices a meek faith which correlates with Howard W. Campbell's description of the American military and its citizens.
Billy was given an emergency furlough home because his father was shot dead by a friend while they were hunting deers. One of his time warps relates to his adventure back on a train to visit his father for a last time. The narrative and one of the time warps connect, which can be an evidence that this might be the imagination of one of the greatest's minds or the darkest humor portrayed by Vonnegut.
2. He obeyed orders to go overseas to Luxembourg. This was in December of 1944, during the last German attack of the war. The audience is introduced to the hopelessness of war where soldiers are poorly equipped; Billy was not issued a steel helmet and combat boots. The Three Musketeers unwillingly welcome Billy who should not have joined the war....Billy Pilgrim who looked like a filthy flamingo survived an enemy attack with the help of Roland Weary for Billy wanted to die amidst the cold, hunger, and the incompetence for he repeated, "You guys go on without me!"
He moves on after the attack, and stops at a forest. He was leaning with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. His attention passed from life to death, which was violet light (p 43).
3. And then he swung into life again and stopped. He was a little boy taking a shower with his hairy father at Ilium YMCA.
4. He traveled in time to 1965. He was 41 years old and visiting his ailing mother at Pine Knoll, an old people's home. His mother inquires, "How did I get so old?"
5. He traveled in time to 1958 where he was at a banquet in honor of a Little League team of which his son Robert was a member.
6. He blinked and traveled to 1961, at a New Year's Eve and he was heavily drunk. His unorthodoxy to Valencia is evident when he involves himself with another woman.
7. Billy finds himself back in WW2 and was being shaken by Weary. Billy was dragged and flattened by Weary who wanted to be deemed heroic. Billy hallucinated of wearing clean and dry shoes which emphasized the anti-heroic and tragic side of war.
8. His hallucinations leads him to the Chinese restaurant in Ilium of 1957. He was elected President of the Lions Club and he was asked to speak which he does!
9. He was back with Weary who was going to beat him up if he did not wake up. Weary continues to hit Billy but notices the German soldiers who were witnessing the scene. Both Billy and Weary are captured and are kept as prisoners in a stone cottage and Billy falls asleep.
10. He wakes up in his optometry office in Ilium. He seems disoriented as his female patient inquires whether he is fine.
11. He closes his eyes to be waken up by Germans for falling asleep with the other war prisoners. The soldiers marched and photos were taken of them as evidence to show how miserably equipped American soldiers were.
12. He warps in time to 1967, and on his way to the Lions Club luncheon meeting, and he passed streets which looked like Dresden after the attack, and then he listens to the interpretation of a Marine officer about the Vietnam War. The Major told that Robert's group, the Green Berets, were doing great and that he ought to be proud.
13. Back in war. Continued walking until they reached Germany where they were regrouped according to status and packed in boxcars. He intervenes with Wild Bob who later dies, and he witnesses the unclean and unhygienic side of war but Wild Bob mentions that he has seen worse.
14. He traveled in time to 1967. Prepares to be captured by Tralfamadorians! He watches a movie backwards. He enters the saucer and he bombards them with Earthling questions!
15. The acceleration of the saucer pushed Billy back into the boxcar crossing Germany. The conditions were pathetic, and Weary dies and mentions his murderer BILLY! He reaches the camp and is told to take off his clothes. We are introduces to Edgar Derby and Paul Lazzaro. Their clothes were being cleaned!!
16. He zooms back to infancy. He was bathes by his mother and he feels the comfort which he compares to the present drastic environment.
17. He is then a middle-aged optometrist who was playing golf. He went out to take the ball out of the cup...
18. He was strapped to s chair in the flying SAUCER to TRALFAMADORE! They explain the Earthling's perspective on time and free will for they have been observing our species. He reads the Tralfamadorian novel, where the life is laid out as a stretch!
19. He took a trip to the Canyon. His insecurity as a child is evident when he feels afraid and longs for his family's protection.
19. He takes another trip to Carlsbad Caverns.
20. He found himself back in the war, and he was off the shower. He got his clothes back and put on the coat. Germans laughed at his appearance. The British men were eager and pleasant. They made war look stylish and fun. They were welcoming to American prisoners and put on a play (Cinderella) for the guests. Billy laughed too much and was then put on morphine and placed in the prisoner's hospital.
21. He had a hallucination where he considered him a giraffe and later falls asleep.
22. He woke up in the veterans' hospital near Lake Placid, New York (springtime, 1948). He was placed there for being crazy when he was enrolled in the Ilium School of Optometry. He meets Eliot Rosewater who has a collection of science fiction and he introduces Billy to Kilgore Trout. They both found life meaningless and putrid and was trying to reinvent themselves. Billy avoids his smoking mother who was welcomed by Eliot! They discuss of Valencia, Billy's bargain for a good life.
23. Derby was waiting with Billy in the prisoner's hospital and the Englishmen renders credit to him for being alive.
24. Travels back to veterans' hospital and inquires whether his mother had left and meets with Valencia even though unwillingly.
25. Billy travels in time to the zoo in Tralfamadore. He was 44 years old and was displayed naked for the aliens were all curious and waiting outside of the zoo. His questions about time and peace are answered by them.
26. He then time warps to his wedding night with Valencia.
27. He travels back to the prison hospital again, and encounters the dark face of the American soldiers.
28. He then time travels to his night with Valencia again.
29. He then jumps to his train ride to attend his father's funeral.
Meanwhile Lazzaro is brought to the prison hospital after trying to steal an Englishman's belonging. We are introduced to Campbell's speech as per the guard translating.
30. He then travels in time to 1968 to the present where Barbara scolds him for acting childish.
31. After Barbara left, he time travels to the zoo in Tralfamadore, and Montana was brought for him. We learn about their relationship.
32. He returns to the present but goes on to practice and sees the patient. People consider him to be ill because of his odd behavior in retelling the tales of Tralfamadorians to the patient.
33. He travels back to the prison hospital, and we are introduced to Lazzaro's hit list.
34. He then experiences his death as he foresaw through his Tralfamadorian experience.
35. He swings back into life again, back to 1945 after his life was threatened by Lazzaro. They were asked to meet other prisoners in the theater for an election. They left for Dresden. They reached the Slaughterhouse-five after overcoming the terrain and the extreme.
36. He travels to 1975 (25 years later) where he encounters an expected plane crash as told by the Tralfamadorians.
37. He then closes his eyes to travel back to 1944. He is back with Weary and wants to give up this pursuit.
Meanwhile, he is taken to a small private hospital and he dreamed a million things!
38. He thought of his first day after reaching Dresden, and the work Derby and him did before Dresden was bombed. Campbell was a visitor and they took refuge on a locker while Dresden was being bombed.
39. He woke up to see Barbara arguing!
40. He retaliates his meeting with Trout in 1964.
41. He traveled back to the night Dresden was destroyed. (177)
42. He travels to the zoo where Montana is placed.
He relives the Dresden bombing and how he took refuge under the enemies (German innkeeper). We are told of his encounters with Rumfoord in the private hospital. He then is visited by his daughter.
43. He traveled in time to when he was 16 years old, in a doctor's waiting room (189).
44. He traveled back in time after the Dresden bombing. They were looking for souvenirs of the war (194).
45. He then sees himself as an optometrist.
46. He then traveled to his private hospital in Vermont. He was then taken by his daughter (201).
During this scene, we are aware of Billy's conscious decision to announce the Tralfamadorian ways of living to the world. He goes on to the book store.
47. He is later back in Tralfamadore with Montana Wildhack and we see the same prayer as in his optometrist's office.
The narrative goes on to describe the aftermath of the Dresden bombing!
By:PARVATHY
Sunday, March 27, 2011
My own novel!!!!!!!!
Ok, I completely agree with Mr. Lynn's statement that "everything happens for a reason" because I finished this post but accidently clicked something without saving the post and well I am trying to believe that it was all for the best.......
I prepared a story line last summer so that it can be submitted to the Literary Journal but I don't know what happened, I sank in because of the course load. Anyways, the story focuses on the stability of each moment in our life. I have always believed that there is a fine line between coincidence and fate, and that CHANCE IS THAT FINE LINE...........
Listen:
A young and ambitious girl was bidding goodbye to her apprehensive father who was sweating as if he was going to take the MCAT exams. She assured her father that she was going to be just fine, and that she was going to pursue her higher education. After her father leaving, she had to wait an extra hour for the train was late. She was going to gently step foot on the massive train, but then she felt a strange emotion to turn and look back......She did!!!! So it goes...
A sudden feeling prompted her to purchase a bottle of water, which she did. She was gulping it down as if she tasted water for the first time. Little did she know that the massive train slowly chooed its way out of the station.....She ran but was unable to catch up with that mode of transport. She left the station questioning WHY this happened? FOR WHAT? It is always easier to ask questions rather than to answer them.
She was terrified and shocked by the news which reached her the next day. Apparently, the train never reached the destination and nobody knew about its whereabouts! She thanked that moment of time which dragged and prompted her to step out of that machine, which completely changed her life.
This is the summary of that story line! I have seen many boast, many weep, many break down over small unimportant details but none looks at the bigger picture! Vonnegut through this novel wants us to evaluate ourselves by considering the half-full versions of our moments.
Similarly, I wanted to question the validity of chance and coincidence in our lives. If we focus on the pleasant aspect of a situation and shape the present, the future tends to be pleasant and rewarding. If we focus on the negative, there would be no pleasant emotion to fill in the emptiness. Let's consider this example: If Vonnegut did not write Slaughterhouse-Five, we would not be writing this very post.
I wanted my novel (or story line) to remind the general public about the validity of each of our lives. We are fragile beings climbing the ladder of fate and chance with a flaw leading us downhill into the pitch of darkness to emerge again. Let us focus on the positive and IGNORE THE NEGATIVE as there will always be wars, conflicts, irritation, and quest for power. We can always pave the way for a change as the leader says, BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THIS WORLD....
By: Parvathy
I prepared a story line last summer so that it can be submitted to the Literary Journal but I don't know what happened, I sank in because of the course load. Anyways, the story focuses on the stability of each moment in our life. I have always believed that there is a fine line between coincidence and fate, and that CHANCE IS THAT FINE LINE...........
Listen:
A young and ambitious girl was bidding goodbye to her apprehensive father who was sweating as if he was going to take the MCAT exams. She assured her father that she was going to be just fine, and that she was going to pursue her higher education. After her father leaving, she had to wait an extra hour for the train was late. She was going to gently step foot on the massive train, but then she felt a strange emotion to turn and look back......She did!!!! So it goes...
A sudden feeling prompted her to purchase a bottle of water, which she did. She was gulping it down as if she tasted water for the first time. Little did she know that the massive train slowly chooed its way out of the station.....She ran but was unable to catch up with that mode of transport. She left the station questioning WHY this happened? FOR WHAT? It is always easier to ask questions rather than to answer them.
She was terrified and shocked by the news which reached her the next day. Apparently, the train never reached the destination and nobody knew about its whereabouts! She thanked that moment of time which dragged and prompted her to step out of that machine, which completely changed her life.
This is the summary of that story line! I have seen many boast, many weep, many break down over small unimportant details but none looks at the bigger picture! Vonnegut through this novel wants us to evaluate ourselves by considering the half-full versions of our moments.
Similarly, I wanted to question the validity of chance and coincidence in our lives. If we focus on the pleasant aspect of a situation and shape the present, the future tends to be pleasant and rewarding. If we focus on the negative, there would be no pleasant emotion to fill in the emptiness. Let's consider this example: If Vonnegut did not write Slaughterhouse-Five, we would not be writing this very post.
I wanted my novel (or story line) to remind the general public about the validity of each of our lives. We are fragile beings climbing the ladder of fate and chance with a flaw leading us downhill into the pitch of darkness to emerge again. Let us focus on the positive and IGNORE THE NEGATIVE as there will always be wars, conflicts, irritation, and quest for power. We can always pave the way for a change as the leader says, BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THIS WORLD....
By: Parvathy
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Livin in the Brown World
If I was to write a novel I would base it mainly on my culture, my life, and everyday situations an individual has to face. I would write about the brown life and how different and similar life is to other cultures. This way people of other cultures can gain knowledge about different cultures. The novel would talk about family issues, highschool life, and struggle for the future and it would also talk about environmental issues, basically global warming and the destruction of the world, 2012!!!!!!!! Because that's all that I hear about nowadays, natural destruction, moon's coming closer to the Earth, and DOOM'S DAY like come on who cares if the world's going to end, we are all going to die one day or another and after we die will we only know if we are truly stuck in time. But I really don't think that the world is going to end becuase of all the brown scientists and physicists that are going to save the world and one day the brown's will rule the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By: Puja
By: Puja
Friday, March 25, 2011
Potweeting through time....
I woke up on a mid summer day ready to carry on with the daily business but was welcomed by a large gush of wind and storming thunder. I heard the loud "rum" of the cars steering out of the driveway as my parents were leaving for work. I stood up and went back to bed and so it was. It was unusually cold at that moment and I felt a sudden gush of wind on my face.
My face was about to solidify as I opened my eyes and stepped out of Air Canada which landed close to 18:00 on a mid winter day. The plane was humangous and I felt like a grain of sand when compared to the massive machinery. Let me tell the truth, I felt as if I owned the whole universe or as if I was the President of the United States. Well I felt as if I was part of the FBI entering a secret location with an expensive suit and a $500,000 German Maybach waiting for my arrival. Returning to reality, I didn't have a Maybach waiting but I did find my dad's Chevrolet waiting outside of the Pearson. I was eager to step onto the car and begin my journey onto a new world.
The car was travelling at a high speed which was evident from the flashing objects outside, and I dared to open the window in this crucial weather. A sudden splash awoke me as I saw my mom pouring cold water onto my face so that I would wake up and get on with the usual routine. I jumped up and asked where the car went? My mom gave me a sneer as if I was insane!! I was not INSANE at that point since I did not take Physics at the time. I realized that it was not raining anymore but sunnyyyy!!!!!!!!!!! I was not in North America, I was in Asia and I was not the President.....YET!
By: Parvathy
My face was about to solidify as I opened my eyes and stepped out of Air Canada which landed close to 18:00 on a mid winter day. The plane was humangous and I felt like a grain of sand when compared to the massive machinery. Let me tell the truth, I felt as if I owned the whole universe or as if I was the President of the United States. Well I felt as if I was part of the FBI entering a secret location with an expensive suit and a $500,000 German Maybach waiting for my arrival. Returning to reality, I didn't have a Maybach waiting but I did find my dad's Chevrolet waiting outside of the Pearson. I was eager to step onto the car and begin my journey onto a new world.
The car was travelling at a high speed which was evident from the flashing objects outside, and I dared to open the window in this crucial weather. A sudden splash awoke me as I saw my mom pouring cold water onto my face so that I would wake up and get on with the usual routine. I jumped up and asked where the car went? My mom gave me a sneer as if I was insane!! I was not INSANE at that point since I did not take Physics at the time. I realized that it was not raining anymore but sunnyyyy!!!!!!!!!!! I was not in North America, I was in Asia and I was not the President.....YET!
By: Parvathy
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Good, Banned & the Published
If someones stops and stares at an object and comments negatively we can be certain that the object has changed his/her perspective. Similarly, Slaughterhouse Five had made a significant impact on the literary world. The banning of this publication showed how truthful and powerful the text was in showing the true American culture and society. Kurt Vonnegut mainly stated his view of how his experience in the second world war meant to him. In my opinion, should not literature allow individuals to express their point of view? A novel if does not set one thinking is not worth a shelf room, but I am certain that Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse has broken the rules of ignorance for this literature opens the eyes of individuals who are unaware of their surrounding. Censoring such a novel would not impact greatly in the world of education, in fact, such a novel will shed light on the true nature of war, giving the students views upon which they can arrive at their own conclusion. How would you feel about your creative piece of writing expressing your inner feelings be banned? We have also seen this attitude towards Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) which was also banned due to sexual promiscuity and anti-Christian references. In all, we believe that these novels should be praised for breaking the barrier in literature of dutifying matter and hats off for these novels for revealing the true nature of life.
By: Parvathy & Puja
By: Parvathy & Puja
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