Seminar pre write and discussion
Berr Kilgo
Seminar Pre Write
Chp 1. I think that in chapter 1, Kurt is just prefacing the book and trying to give the readers some background knowledge on why he wrote the book. For me the most important point Kurt made in this chapter is when he discussed with Mary O Hare that war is not fought by men but it is suffered through by children about to grow up. The most important thing I learned about Billy Pilgrim in this chapter is that he is unstuck in time and that his perception of time is not linear. Is this chapter about Billy or Kurt?
Chp 2. I think that the most important point Kurt made about war in this chapter was when he talked about the massacre of dresden and if humans being able to do something so heinous takes away from their dignity. I learned that Billy is not going to be painted as a hero in this story and he will be more accurately descriptive as a child that is afraid. What is Roland Weary’s role going to be in this story?
Chp 3. To me the most important thing Kurt said in this chapter was the serenity quote that hangs on a plaque in his office. This to me really ties back to the books end and beginning and brings it all together well. I learned that Billy used this nonlinear way to tell the story because it makes it a little easier for him to connect to his emotions and feeling about what happened in a indirect way. Does Billy have that plaque in his office because of his experiences on Tralfamadore?
Chp 4. It seemed important when they talked about the Tralfamadorians concept of time because it emphasizes the role of fate and removes the illusion of free will for Billy. I think Billy needed to believe that it was planned because it made it harder to blame himself for what he had seen. In this chapter we learn how Billy dies and how someone like Roland Weary can affect the fate of Billy even if it is 30 years later that it happens. How does it affect Billy knowing how he is going to die?
Chp 5. In this chapter we learn how Billy came to have the mindset of “So it goes”. When on Tralfamadore he comes to terms with fate so he accepts that he can’t change the way “it” goes. Billy has trouble with the idea that a lot of people on earth don’t take responsibility for the actions that they take. Billy take the advice to appreciate the good moments whenever you can get a chance to. Are the Tralfamadorians a happy people, you would think it would be hard to be happy if there were no surprises.
Chp 6. An important piece of this chapter is that Billy know that there are many things that you cannot change so he doesn’t try to change them. Although it does make me angry that he seems to have an inhuman lack of interest in everything that is going on around him. We learn that Billy is not curious about the war and is not interested in changing the course of all the negative things that happened. Why does Billy not seem to care about anything at all?
Chp 7. In this Chapter Kurt shows the reader how easy it is to give up at war. He describes when Billy wants to give up and how hard it was to continue when such horrible things are going on. Weary want Billy to continue but Billy has already given up and does not want to continue. I learned that Billy might be so beaten down and so defeated because he know what will happen and he know that it doesn’t get much better. People are always driven by the idea that it might get better. Why would Billy get on the Plane if he knew it as going to crash?
Chp 8. From this chapter I gained the knowledge that at war people will latch onto beliefs that are sometimes ridiculous in order to survive and that those who don’t lose the drive to survive. I think that Billy lost this Drive to survive because he knows the truth so he can’t lie to himself in order to believe something that isn’t true. I noticed that Billy’s sanest moment was when he was with Trout who happens to be the one person who never really disapointed Billy. How would it affect someone to be doubted on everything they knew to be true?
Chp 9. I learned that no matter if you survive a war or not no matter what a little part of you dies while you’re there. Billy’s coffin on wheels symbolizes this exact thing. Even if this is one of his happiest moments he can’t really appreciate it because a part of him is lost anyway. I learned about how disgusted Billy really was by what happened in Dresden. Even if he didn’t directly say it his responses to what Rumfoord said made it pretty clear. How did Billy expect the world to respond?
Chp 10. The message that I got from this chapter about war is that nothing intelligent can be said about war. A birds tweet means just as much when talking about war as a professor novel. No one can define war in an intelligible way death can not be intelligent no matter how it is “justified”. I learned that Billy believes that war novels are pointless because how much does it mean as long as war is still going on. Billy does not know how to show people how terrible war is because you can’t really know until you’ve been there. Words cannot paint an honest picture about something so terrible. Why did Kurt bother writing this book if he knows that it won’t have any actual effect?
Seminar
Is this book an anti war novel?
I think that this book is an anti war novel but it is not directly opposing war. I think that since he talks about how harmful war is on regular life and on someones psychological well being this makes it clear that he does not support the idea of war. He doesn't ever say that he doesn't like war but he shows you through his descriptive writing that war is a idiotic thing.
What is the Truth Vonnegut is trying to communicate about war?
I think that Vonnegut is trying to send the message across that war can not be an intelligent thing when lives are being taken. In the last chapter of the book he talks about how a birds tweet means just as much as anything that can be said about war. He is trying to illustrate the fact that war is a fools errand and nothing intelligent can really be said about it.
Was slaughterhouse five a comedy or tragedy?
I think that slaughterhouse five is a tragedy that Kurt brought humor into. I think that a lot of the stories told about what happened were very tragic and horrific but the author managed to make it funny in a surprising way. An example of this is his use of the “Tralfamadorian” saying, “So it goes” the times where he decided to say this in the book were after life's tragedies. When death or appalling things happened he would say this afterward so he could remind himself that these terrible things that happen are a part of life.
Did Billy really get kidnapped by aliens and travel in time?
I dont think that Billy actually got abducted by aliens. Kurt used this idea to better explain his experiences. The fact that Billy could time travel made it easier for Vonnegut to talk about multiple things that happened in his life in a way that made sense. I also think that making the book somewhat fictional made it easier for Vonnegut to talk about his experiences. I think that Kurt was unable to write about what happened to him during the war because he was still processing the horrible things that he experienced.
Why is Billy Pilgrim so passive?
I think that Billy Pilgrim is so passive because that is how Kurt wanted to illustrate him. Kurt wanted to illustrate him this way so that he was not thought of as a hero but more as a victim. Edgar Derby who was the only sympathetic character in the book dies for stealing a teapot. Vonnegut is trying to say that war doesn’t accomplish anything.
Does Billy have free will?
I think that Billy does have free will and he just chooses not to act on it. I would rather believe that I have some say in my future and that I can change the path that I am on. I would not like having no control in my future even if I didn’t realize it. Someone else planning my life sounds unreasonable and annoying.
Why didn’t the book focus more on Dresden?
I think that the reason Vonnegut didn’t focus more on Dresden is because he had trouble talking about what he experienced during the war. Kurt also may not remember his whole experience there so he wrote about the things that stayed with him.
Why does the author narrate the first and last chapter of the book?
I think that the author felt the need to narrate those chapters because he thought that would make it a little easier to get his point across in a stronger way. I think that he wanted to start on a boom and end on a bang.
Why does Kurt use the phrase “So it goes” so much?
I think that “So it goes” is Kurts way of letting go and reminding himself that the bad things that happen are a part of life as well as the good things. This is his way of realizing that death is just a part of life. I think that this also connects to the poem that sits in Billy’s office saying that you have to accept the things you can’t change.
What does “poo-tee-weet” signify?
This signifies that nothing intelligent can come from war or be said about war because war is such a stupid waste of time.
Seminar Pre Write
Chp 1. I think that in chapter 1, Kurt is just prefacing the book and trying to give the readers some background knowledge on why he wrote the book. For me the most important point Kurt made in this chapter is when he discussed with Mary O Hare that war is not fought by men but it is suffered through by children about to grow up. The most important thing I learned about Billy Pilgrim in this chapter is that he is unstuck in time and that his perception of time is not linear. Is this chapter about Billy or Kurt?
Chp 2. I think that the most important point Kurt made about war in this chapter was when he talked about the massacre of dresden and if humans being able to do something so heinous takes away from their dignity. I learned that Billy is not going to be painted as a hero in this story and he will be more accurately descriptive as a child that is afraid. What is Roland Weary’s role going to be in this story?
Chp 3. To me the most important thing Kurt said in this chapter was the serenity quote that hangs on a plaque in his office. This to me really ties back to the books end and beginning and brings it all together well. I learned that Billy used this nonlinear way to tell the story because it makes it a little easier for him to connect to his emotions and feeling about what happened in a indirect way. Does Billy have that plaque in his office because of his experiences on Tralfamadore?
Chp 4. It seemed important when they talked about the Tralfamadorians concept of time because it emphasizes the role of fate and removes the illusion of free will for Billy. I think Billy needed to believe that it was planned because it made it harder to blame himself for what he had seen. In this chapter we learn how Billy dies and how someone like Roland Weary can affect the fate of Billy even if it is 30 years later that it happens. How does it affect Billy knowing how he is going to die?
Chp 5. In this chapter we learn how Billy came to have the mindset of “So it goes”. When on Tralfamadore he comes to terms with fate so he accepts that he can’t change the way “it” goes. Billy has trouble with the idea that a lot of people on earth don’t take responsibility for the actions that they take. Billy take the advice to appreciate the good moments whenever you can get a chance to. Are the Tralfamadorians a happy people, you would think it would be hard to be happy if there were no surprises.
Chp 6. An important piece of this chapter is that Billy know that there are many things that you cannot change so he doesn’t try to change them. Although it does make me angry that he seems to have an inhuman lack of interest in everything that is going on around him. We learn that Billy is not curious about the war and is not interested in changing the course of all the negative things that happened. Why does Billy not seem to care about anything at all?
Chp 7. In this Chapter Kurt shows the reader how easy it is to give up at war. He describes when Billy wants to give up and how hard it was to continue when such horrible things are going on. Weary want Billy to continue but Billy has already given up and does not want to continue. I learned that Billy might be so beaten down and so defeated because he know what will happen and he know that it doesn’t get much better. People are always driven by the idea that it might get better. Why would Billy get on the Plane if he knew it as going to crash?
Chp 8. From this chapter I gained the knowledge that at war people will latch onto beliefs that are sometimes ridiculous in order to survive and that those who don’t lose the drive to survive. I think that Billy lost this Drive to survive because he knows the truth so he can’t lie to himself in order to believe something that isn’t true. I noticed that Billy’s sanest moment was when he was with Trout who happens to be the one person who never really disapointed Billy. How would it affect someone to be doubted on everything they knew to be true?
Chp 9. I learned that no matter if you survive a war or not no matter what a little part of you dies while you’re there. Billy’s coffin on wheels symbolizes this exact thing. Even if this is one of his happiest moments he can’t really appreciate it because a part of him is lost anyway. I learned about how disgusted Billy really was by what happened in Dresden. Even if he didn’t directly say it his responses to what Rumfoord said made it pretty clear. How did Billy expect the world to respond?
Chp 10. The message that I got from this chapter about war is that nothing intelligent can be said about war. A birds tweet means just as much when talking about war as a professor novel. No one can define war in an intelligible way death can not be intelligent no matter how it is “justified”. I learned that Billy believes that war novels are pointless because how much does it mean as long as war is still going on. Billy does not know how to show people how terrible war is because you can’t really know until you’ve been there. Words cannot paint an honest picture about something so terrible. Why did Kurt bother writing this book if he knows that it won’t have any actual effect?
Seminar
Is this book an anti war novel?
I think that this book is an anti war novel but it is not directly opposing war. I think that since he talks about how harmful war is on regular life and on someones psychological well being this makes it clear that he does not support the idea of war. He doesn't ever say that he doesn't like war but he shows you through his descriptive writing that war is a idiotic thing.
What is the Truth Vonnegut is trying to communicate about war?
I think that Vonnegut is trying to send the message across that war can not be an intelligent thing when lives are being taken. In the last chapter of the book he talks about how a birds tweet means just as much as anything that can be said about war. He is trying to illustrate the fact that war is a fools errand and nothing intelligent can really be said about it.
Was slaughterhouse five a comedy or tragedy?
I think that slaughterhouse five is a tragedy that Kurt brought humor into. I think that a lot of the stories told about what happened were very tragic and horrific but the author managed to make it funny in a surprising way. An example of this is his use of the “Tralfamadorian” saying, “So it goes” the times where he decided to say this in the book were after life's tragedies. When death or appalling things happened he would say this afterward so he could remind himself that these terrible things that happen are a part of life.
Did Billy really get kidnapped by aliens and travel in time?
I dont think that Billy actually got abducted by aliens. Kurt used this idea to better explain his experiences. The fact that Billy could time travel made it easier for Vonnegut to talk about multiple things that happened in his life in a way that made sense. I also think that making the book somewhat fictional made it easier for Vonnegut to talk about his experiences. I think that Kurt was unable to write about what happened to him during the war because he was still processing the horrible things that he experienced.
Why is Billy Pilgrim so passive?
I think that Billy Pilgrim is so passive because that is how Kurt wanted to illustrate him. Kurt wanted to illustrate him this way so that he was not thought of as a hero but more as a victim. Edgar Derby who was the only sympathetic character in the book dies for stealing a teapot. Vonnegut is trying to say that war doesn’t accomplish anything.
Does Billy have free will?
I think that Billy does have free will and he just chooses not to act on it. I would rather believe that I have some say in my future and that I can change the path that I am on. I would not like having no control in my future even if I didn’t realize it. Someone else planning my life sounds unreasonable and annoying.
Why didn’t the book focus more on Dresden?
I think that the reason Vonnegut didn’t focus more on Dresden is because he had trouble talking about what he experienced during the war. Kurt also may not remember his whole experience there so he wrote about the things that stayed with him.
Why does the author narrate the first and last chapter of the book?
I think that the author felt the need to narrate those chapters because he thought that would make it a little easier to get his point across in a stronger way. I think that he wanted to start on a boom and end on a bang.
Why does Kurt use the phrase “So it goes” so much?
I think that “So it goes” is Kurts way of letting go and reminding himself that the bad things that happen are a part of life as well as the good things. This is his way of realizing that death is just a part of life. I think that this also connects to the poem that sits in Billy’s office saying that you have to accept the things you can’t change.
What does “poo-tee-weet” signify?
This signifies that nothing intelligent can come from war or be said about war because war is such a stupid waste of time.