Archetypes

Some archetypes that I found in this novel is the Tralfamadorians. Them telling Billy what the true meaning of life was should be thought after by pretty much everybody. Another archetype that I found was Billy himself. Since he now knows the true meaning of life, he is sort of like a model person that everyone should follow. And another one is the city of Dresden, because Billy referred back to the city a lot and most of the story takes place there or somewhere around there.

Allusions

In the novel Slaughterhouse Five there were quite a few allusions that were recognizable. The first and most obvious one was when the Allies were bombing Dresden and all the POW's were in the slaughterhouse and could hear the bombing and when they got out, they saw all the destruction of the city. This makes the person who is reading think about how it was like back in WWII and how horrible it must of been to be there. Another one was when they talk about how the killings in Dresden was worse then the atomic bomb falling. That probably makes the reader thing about how bad the Dresden bombing were and how many innocent people died that day. And when they say they you should focus on the good things in your life, you kinda stop and wonder about all the good things in your life and the bad things and say to yourself that you can't change anything so might as well accept it. So throughout the book there are many allusions that are quite recognizable.

Its a Classic because...

Slaughterhouse Five is a good example of a classic because of many different reasons. First its a classic because the book teaches a very valuable lesson that everyone should learn. That lesson is that u can't choose to change anything about your fate, but u can choose to concentrate upon any moment in your life. You have to accept the things that happen in your life whether it is good or bad, and try to focus on the the good things in your life also instead of the bad things. This novel is also a classic because of how it was written. The story of Billy Pilgrim reflects the life of the Author Vonnegut which is quite rare in most novels. So those are two ways on how Slaughterhouse Five is a classic novel in most peoples eyes.

Character Growth

The main character Billy Pilgrim had a lot of character growth in this novel. He was a very unpopular and a weakling before the war and was a joke as a soldier. He would always give up when he was walking around during the war and would start saying "just go without me". He was so out of it at first that he married a girl named Valencia who he didn't think was very good looking and he wasn't very happy with her at all. Then he gets captured by the Tralfamadorians and is put in a zoo and that changes everything. They taught him that u can't choose to change anything about your fate, but can choose to concentrate upon any moment in your life. So he starts to accept the things that happen to him and he trys to focus on the good things in his life instead of all the bad things, he just accepts the way his life is going and he doesn't mind it.

Slaughterhouse Five Summary

Slaughterhouse Five is the story about a man named Billy Pilgram. A disoriented, ill-trained American soldier, is captured by the Germans in the Battle of the Bluge. The Germans imprison him and other PoWs in a disused slaughterhouse in Dresden. During air raids from the Allies, PoWs and guards hide in a deep cellar, because of their safe hiding place, he is one of few survivors of the bombing of the city. Because the bombs have screwed with his head, Billy has come "unstuck in time." He is kidnapped by extraterrestrial aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. They exhibit him in a zoo with movie star Montana Wildhack as his mate. The Tralfamadorians, who can see in four dimensions, have already seen every instant of their lives. They believe they can't choose to change anything about their fates, but can choose to concentrate upon any moment in their lives, and Billy becomes convinced of the correctness of their theories. Billy travels forward and back in time, reliving occasions of his life, real and fantastic. He spends time on Tralfamadore; in Dresden, in the War, with his German capture, and in his post-war married life with a woman named Valencia who is later killed when she is rushing to the hospital and wreaks her car and she gets carbon monoxide poisoning. In the end, Paul Lazzaro hires someone to shoot him after a speech.

Online Review #3

In this review that I found, the reviewers say that Slaughterhouse Five as a whole is very uneven in quality, but they also praise him which they think his novel is widely regarded as the author's finest work. They think that his humor in the book is great, saying that it does not disguise the awful things perceived; it merely strengthens and comforts us to the point where such perception is bearable. It is definitely a book that we need to read is what Granville Hicks comments. Most of the criticism is based on the concerning the novel's apparent endorsement of passive acceptance as an appropriate response to evil. That Vonnegut refuses to say who is wrong, puts no blame, and sets no penalties. Tony Tanner says that Vonnegut's vision is one of "moral indifference." I agree with this article because his humor in the book is really good and funny.
http://www.answers.com/topic/slaughterhouse-five-novel-6

Online Review #2

In this review by James Hill, he thinks that the story of Slaughterhouse Five is molded after the author’s own experiences during the allied bombing of Dresden in World War II. He says the novel is very much anti-war, showing that the authors own decision on what he felt about the war and if he wanted to join or not. He says that Slaughterhouse Five has a lot of moral meanderings and is laden with terse philosophies about the meaning of free will. The writing style does parallel with chaos that a child sent to war feels through an examination of personal experiences. I do agree with the reviewer that the novel is an anti-war book. He talks about innocent civilians being killed a lot but I don't really agree with the child sent to war thing.
http://www.zumbrota.info/books/reviews.html