Slaughterhouse 5

read for english class

it's always difficult to attempt a more cursory statement on a work you've been picking apart for weeks, even a relatively short one such as this. but if anything i have to commend how this dissects traditional war fiction, beyond being obviously unglamorous it's a really incredible subversion if you're familiar with the genre. a lot of this lies in tralfamadorian philosophy, ie how it is juxtaposed over the war via billy pilgrim's perspective to convey how powerless the individual pawns are in the scale of global conflict. there are no heroes, not the apathetic billy nor the vengeance driven paul lazarro. the closest thing to a hero we have, at least a wholly patriotic and seemingly good-natured figure, is executed for taking a teacup from the crumbling remains of dresden.

there is a debate about what constitutes “anti-war” media, one i believe to be more prominent in cinematic discussion circles - the topic is inherently glamourized and/or aestheticized in a lot of films, and while i think it's more difficult to inadvertently do so in the written medium it's still a possibility. nonetheless i think this is one of the most potent anti-war works i've come across, in part due to the sentiment being clearly embedded in vonnegut's own experiences as a prisoner of war. he seems to be very conscious of how general media glorifies the topic. a recurring and utterly horrifying statement is that the soldiers of these wars are truly just children. not heroes, but children dehumanized, reduced to tools for conflict. in a novel full of incredible ideas, i believe that is what will stay with me the longest.