Slaughterhouse Five

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

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Chapter 1 of Slaughter House Five was all about how the book came to be. The author, Kurt Vonnegut, had been working on the book for years, ever since he returned from the war, and the bombing of Dresden. The first chapter is all about the pains that he went through to try and get this book finished. This chapter already gives us clues as to what the tone and the message of the book will be, by describing how he promised his old war buddies' wife, Mary O'Hare, gave him the inspiration to call the book The Children's Crusade.

Chapter 2 Slaughter House Five When chapter 2 opens, we are introduced to a character named Billy Pilgrim. However, Billy is not just a normal character. He has become unstuck in time. Billy can spontaneously travel to random periods in time of his life and see what is going to happen.

He says that he has seen his birth, and, consequently, his death, many times, and also knows that he has been kidnapped by aliens, the Tralfamadorians. Billy also shares ideas that he has learned while on Tralfamadore, about the concept of time. The Tralfamadorians say that when a person dies, the person is still very much alive in moments past.

Also in this chapter, we meet a character named Roland Weary, who is in the war with Billy. He is somewhat of an odd character, a person who is obsessed with the idea of torture. He and his pals, the "Three Musketeers," repeatedly save Billy's life, that is, until two of the three musketeers ditch Billy and Weary. Chapter 2 ends with Weary about to beat up Billy, but then realizes that they have been captured by the Germans.

Chapter 3 Slaughter House Five This chapter opens...