1. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
IB English IV HL ( ) Critical Perspectives
New Historicism
Mythological/Archetypal

2. Bell work for Monday, August 12
Write at least one paragraph responding to these questions:
What is the overall effect of the disjointed time sequence in Slaughterhouse-Five?
What (if anything) would the story have gained if it had been told in a more conventional (i.e. linear) fashion?
What (if anything) would have been lost if the story had been told chronologically?

3. Bell work for Wednesday, August 14
Write at least one paragraph responding to this question:
Why do you think the book’s subtitle is The Children’s Crusade?

4. “Jigsaw” Activity for Character Analysis in Slaughterhouse-Five
Part 1
Create your personal written response to the question in as much detail as possible.

5. “Jigsaw” Activity for Character Analysis in Slaughterhouse-Five
Part 2
Form a group with others who have your same question number.
Compare and contrast your answers.
Take written notes by adding the responses of other group members to your original written responses.
When you are finished, every member of your group should have detailed notes on your question.

6. “Jigsaw” Activity for Character Analysis in Slaughterhouse-Five
Part 3
Re-form into new groups -- A, B and C – using the letter on your original question.
Whoever has notes on Question 1 will first read the question to the group, and then will “teach” question 1 to the group by sharing and explaining all the notes. Meanwhile, group members who worked on Questions 2 & 3 will take notes.
Then do the same for Questions 2 and 3.
When you are finished, everyone should have a complete set of notes for all 3 questions!
Then select a spokesman from your group to report your final results to the class.

7. New Historicism
A common tendency in the study of literature written or set in past/foreign cultures is to assume that there is a direct connection between the culture as presented and the way the culture really was.
The school of literary criticism known as “New Historicism” asserts that such a comparison is impossible, for two reasons:

8. New Historicism
First, the “truth” of a foreign or past culture can never be known or established as unchangeable.
At best, the “truth” is a matter of interpretation on the part of both the writer and the reader.
This is most obviously evident in the fact that the “losers” of history hardly ever have a voice because only the more powerful cultures have the resources to record their history.

9. New Historicism Who really knows the whole Nazi story?
Or the Iraqui story?
New Historicism argues that these unknown histories are just as significant as the histories of the dominant cultures, and should be included in any world view.
But since they often contradict “traditional” (i.e. the winner’s) history, there is no way to know the ironclad truth.

10. New Historicism
Second, while the text under consideration reflects the culture in which it was written, it also participates in that same culture.
In other words, its existence changes the culture that it reflects.
Literature and culture are interdependent; each helps to create the other. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird not only reflects the culture of the South in the mid-20th century, it also helps to raise awareness of and change some elements of that culture.

11. “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets”
Refer to the article by Kurt Vonnegut entitled “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets” in answering these questions:

12. “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets”
What was happening in the world at the time Slaughterhouse-Five was written? What was occurring during the time in which the story is set?
What were some major controversies during the time the book was written, and when it is set?
How does this article affect your understanding and interpretation of the novel?
In considering this novel, to what degree do you agree or disagree with the claims that “truth is a matter of interpretation” and “the text changes the culture it represents.”

13. Bell work Friday, August 16
Write at least one paragraph responding to this question:
How are Dresden and Tralfamadore two versions of the Garden of Eden?

14. Mythological/Archetypal Approach
Mythological, archetypal and psychological criticism are all closely related. This is mainly because Freud formulated many theories around the idea of the social archetype. His pupil Carl Jung expanded and refined Freud’s theories into a cross-cultural philosophy.
Critics who examine texts from a mythological/archetypal standpoint are looking for symbols.

15. Mythological/Archetypal Approach
Jung said that an archetype is “a figure … that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is manifested.”
He believed that human beings are born innately knowing certain archetypes, pointing to the fact that some myths are repeated throughout history by cultures that could not possibly have come into contact with each other. Many stories in Greek and Roman mythology have counterparts in Chinese and Celtic mythology, for example.

16. Mythological/Archetypal Approach
When reading a book looking for archetypes or myths, critics look for very general recurring themes, characters and situations.
Modern filmmakers use these same archetypes in making movies. By drawing on those feelings, thoughts, concerns and issues that have been part of the human condition in every generation, modern writers allow their readers to know the characters in a work with little or no explanation.

17. Mythological/Archetypal Approach
Three main points of study:
archetypal characters
archetypal images
archetypal situation

18. Archetypal Characters
HERO a larger-than-life figure whose search for self-identity results in his own destruction (often accompanied by the destruction of the society around him). In the aftermath of the death of the hero, there is usually progress toward some ideal.

19. Archetypal Characters
Variations of the HERO include:
the “orphaned” prince, or the lost chieftain’s son raised ignorant of his own heritage.
the scapegoat, an innocent character on whom a situation is blamed, or who assumes the blame for a situation, thus removing guilt from the culprit and society.

20. Archetypal Characters
the loner or outcast, a character who is separated from society due to a physical impairment or and emotional/psychological realization that makes him different. Often the hero is an outcast at some point.
Two common variations of the loner are:
The underdog, a smaller, weaker character who usually emerges victorious at the end of the story
The guilt-ridden figure in search of redemption

21. Archetypal Characters
VILLAIN Male or female personification of evil; often their malice is unmotivated, or motivated by a perceived wrong from the past.
Variations on the VILLAIN include the “mad scientist” and the bully.

22. Archetypal Characters
TEMPTRESS A female who uses a male character’s desires as a means of his destruction.
EARTH MOTHER / GODDESS Mother Nature, Mother Earth – the nurturing, life-giving aspects of femininity
SPIRIT or INTELLECT The inspiration for works of art or literature; often unidentified.

23. Archetypal Characters
SAGE Usually an elderly wise man; a teacher or mentor.
Variations of the SAGE include:
The oracle, or prophet (male or female)
A stern but loving authority figure
A wise woman / witch

24. Archetypal Images Colors Red = blood, anger, passion, violence
Gold = greatness, value, wealth
Green = fertility, luxury, growth
Blue = sky, Godliness, holiness, peace, serenity
White = purity

25. Archetypal Images Numbers 3 = Christian Trinity
4 = the seasons; the four ancient elements (earth, air, water, fire)
12 = the months of the solar year
Water – the source of life and sustenance; cleansing; purification; baptism
Fire – ambiguously both protection and destruction; knowledge; industry

26. Archetypal Images Geometric Shapes Triangle = the Trinity
Circle = perfection, eternity, wholeness
Caves
The womb (source of life); the grave (entrance to the underworld); the unexplored regions of the human soul
Yin and Yang
Any pairs of opposites that complement each other; balance; harmony

27. Archetypal Situations
Quest
The hero attempts to establish his identity of fulfill his destiny.
Variations of the QUEST include:
Selling one’s soul to the devil (Faust)
The pursuit of revenge
Descending into the Underworld

28. Archetypal Situations
Renewal of Life Death and rebirth; resurrection as seen in the cycle of the seasons or the phases of the day (Sleeping Beauty)
Initiation Coming of age; rites of passage (the first hunt; weddings; teen angst films)
The Fall Any event that marks the loss of innocence.

29. Archetypal Situations
Redemptive Sacrifice Any voluntary loss, especially the loss of life, that results in another person’s gaining or regaining a desired state.
Catalog of Difficult Tasks The Labors of Hercules.
The End of the World Warfare; a large battle; a metaphoric fight between good and evil; Armageddon; the Great Flood.

30. Archetypal Interpretation
How does Slaughterhouse-Five fit the pattern of the “Hero’s Journey?”

31. Questions
Examine the characters of Billy Pilgrim, Paul Lazzaro, Edgar Derby and Montana Wildhack and their situations. What archetypes can you recognize in these characters?
How does the Tralfamadorian notion of time—especially their knowledge of how the Universe ends– suggest a mythic reading of the novel?
Which myths seem to be at work in different parts of the novel? Which features of the story (plot, character development, setting, etc.) remind you of other stories you know?