Slaughterhouse-Five was written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in 1953. Whether the book is an antiwar novel or a science fiction novel is ambiguous, but after writing this book, Vonnegut insists that it was a failure. Failure it is not according to many critics. Rather than just writing an anti-war/science fiction novel, Vonnegut wrote a tale of the trials and tribulations resulting from the complete and utter destruction of Dresden during World War II. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut develops the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim along with utilizing science fiction and satire to demonstrate the destructiveness of war.

Vonnegut uses satire and fiction to ironically display the destructiveness of war. In Slaughterhouse-Five, "Vonnegut comes at last in direct confrontation with his Dresden experience" (Keogh and Kislatis 172). John Somer adds, "It took him twenty three years to write his lousy little book" (222). In fact, because Vonnegut found it so difficult to write about the bombing of Dresden, "He comments on the reality of Dresden by treating the problems as fiction" (Giannone 83). One critic establishes that Vonnegut enjoys playing with fiction, using it to represent truth or realit

I think the climax of the book will be the execution of poor old Edgar Derby...The irony is so great. A whole city gets burned down, and thousands and thousands of people are killed. And then this one American foot soldier is arrested in the ruins for taking a teapot...he's shot by a firing squad (4-5).

y (Meeter 208-209). Glenn Meeter adds that Billy alone is a separate version of the role of fiction in the novel by describing his space adventures and time warps (210-211). Billy's character is satirical in itself, for he is a weak and feeble man, not fit to fight a war. Ironically, J.G. Keogh and Edward Kislastis agree, "At the core of the characterization of Billy Pilgrim is the conception of war as a children's crusade" (182). Vonnegut introduces Edgar Derby to further strengthen the ills of war:

In conclusion, the Dresden raid, science fiction, fiction, irony and the characteristics of Billy all help unify and focus destructiveness of war. As an actually event, being realistically portrayed, the raid adds intensity to ideas behind the novel, not just create an anti-war sentiment. By using all of the above literary mechanics, Vonnegut captures the hearts of all readers, and effectively confirms, win or lose, how ruthless and horrific war is.

Vonnegut uses Billy Pilgrim to portray the damaging effects war can have on humans. Glenn Meeter states that the character Billy Pilgrim does not find meaning or purpose in life. As a result of the attack on Dresden, hunger, shock and exhaustion, one source explains that Billy does not have the will to live, and has no concern for the lives of the men around him (Keogh and Kislastis 174). "One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters" (Vonnegut 140-141). According to Festa, "...the proper response to a meaningless, cruel, and apparently doomed world is total resignation. That is Billy Pilgrim's response..." (145). Another critic, Jerome Klintowitz adds "Atrocities are simply too large for the human imagination to grasp. As a result, people shrink away from such happenings or excuse them with nervous giggles" (29). Billy's character goes right along with Klintowitz's theory and chooses "total resignation" (Festa 145), rather than facing the horrors h

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Approximate Word count = 1527
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)