1 paragraph + RF 1. What was your reaction to the Dresden video clip? During the interview, the historian claimed that the bombing of Dresden was an unnecessary military action performed as a show of strength. He made similar claims about Hiroshima etc. Do you think such tactics are necessary in war? Explain. 2. If you were to write a novel about war, what would you call it? Why

Paragraph + RF “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘G– d*&% it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ” --Kurt Vonnegut What does this quotation mean to you? If you could rewrite the last sentence, what would it be? What rule would you give to future generations?

Kurt Vonnegut Born November 1922, Indianapolis, IN Cornell University Majored in Chemistry and Biology Enlists in U.S. Army Served in World War II Studied Anthropology University of Chicago Died April 2007, New York, NY

Family Life Vonnegut's father Fell into severe depression Vonnegut's mother Overdosed on sleeping pills Night before Mother's Day 1944. Themes in Writing Attainment Loss of the "American Dream" Fourth-generation German Children = Never exposed to heritage Anti-German attitudes spread throughout the United States after World War I The Great Depression Vonnegut’s lost most of their wealth

World War II Experiences as POW in Germany While a POW Profound influence of his writing (Slaughterhouse Five) While a POW Witnessed the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by Allied forces in 1945. Experience in Dresden Basis for Slaughterhouse-Five Published in 1969

Vonnegut on what he saw in Dresden “The firebombing of Dresden,” Vonnegut wrote, “was a work of art.” It was, he added, “a tower of smoke and flame to commemorate the rage and heartbreak of so many who had had their lives warped or ruined by the indescribable greed and vanity and cruelty of Germany.” How would you describe the tone he uses to describe this event?

Dresden - Cultural hub of Northern Germany - Called the Florence of the North - A commercial/ transportation center - Railway junction - 110 factories - Many evacuees and refugees from the East and Berlin

Timeline October 31st 1940 The Battle of Britain ends, British lose major casualties in London February 13th -15th 1945 British bomb Dresden on the night of February 13th (first wave) Americans bomb Dresden on the days of February 14th (second wave) and 15th (third wave) May 8th, 1945 End of World War II, Nazis are defeated by the Allies End of the Holocaust November 20, 1945 Nuremberg Trials begin, mass conviction of Nazis for war crimes

Reasons for the Battle Revenge Show Red Army the might and strength of the British and Americans Crush the spirit of the German People Destroy main railway junctions, factories producing war machines, the strategic meeting place of the Nazis

Destruction - Mainly older, more densely populated part bombed - 85% of the fully built up city destroyed - Large number of industrial facilities destroyed - 50% of homes demolished - 80% of city housing damaged to some extent - 1600 acres of land destroyed - 35,000-135,000 deaths

Importance - Frightened the German people - Was an unexpected attack by the Allies, usually defensive - First use of Napalm war - If the Allies had lost the war, they would have been tried for war crimes for this event - Showed the might of the Allies, as well as the hypocrisy.

“So it goes.” One of many repeated, mantra-like words and phrases that run through Vonnegut’s books “so it goes” Became a catchphrase for opponents of the Vietnam war. Why might this phrase resonate with an anti-war audience?

Life in Tableaux Definition: A vivid or graphic description Central Character (Billy Pilgrim) Knows every event which has ever happened or will happen to him Each scene in Billy Pilgrim's life A tableau/scene/moment with an impact on totality of his existence NOT how it relates to the moments immediately preceding and succeeding it. The worldview of the Tralfamadorians (Aliens who kidnap Billy during the book) Expresses how Vonnegut would like the reader to experience the novel.

Narrative Flow, or Time's Arrow Slaughterhouse-Five = a nonlinear work Flash-backs Flash-forwards Changes in setting Chapter Two starts non-linear structure Non-linear structure Holistic rather than Mechanistic: Conveys experience as a continuous whole Vonnegut always alerts the reader to the shift in time and space As the flow of the novel were a tow rope which pulls the reader safely through a series of tableaux.

Diagram for Structure The structure of Slaughterhouse-Five Each box = a tableau Numbers = physical chronology The line = narrative flow

Motifs: Definition Recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Look for and trace the motifs listed on the side. “So it goes” “If the accident will” “an old fart with his memories and Pall Malls” “My name is Jon Jonson” “And so on” the smell of mustard gas and roses The Children's Crusade a dance with death

("Or The Children's Crusade | A Duty-Dance with Death") CHAPTER ONE Key to the novel is the opening section Apparently, the author speaks in his own voice about a visit he made to talk with an old war buddy, Barnard V. O'Hare, as he was completing the manuscript for the novel. It explains how the novel came to be outfitted with its subtitle ("Or The Children's Crusade | A Duty-Dance with Death") How it came to be dedicated to O'Hare's wife. Skepticism about whether there is any hope it might contribute to its intended effect  

Postmodernism

Techniques of Metafiction addressing the reader a story within a story a story about someone reading or writing a book Characters that are aware they are taking part in a story Commenting on a story while telling it (either in footnotes or within the text) A story where the narrator exposes himself as both a narrator and a character

“ I been silent so long now it’s gonna roar out of me like floodwaters and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It’s still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen.”