"SlaughterHouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut.

Essay by HollaBack7878Middle School, 6th gradeA+, May 2003

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The Book starts out with Vonnegut, appearing as a character in the first chapter to tell about the story he is writing and about the events that led to the novel. He informs the reader that

the story is based mainly on real events, but it also contains fictionalized accounts. He reveals that he has been obsessed for years with writing a book about the bombing of Dresden, but he

has found the task very difficult. Vonnegut enlisted the help of one of his friends, Bernard V. O'Hare, to help him remember the events that occurred in the war, for the two of them fought together. He assures O'Hare's wife, Mary, that his book is not a glamorized version of the war. She tries to persuade him to name the book The Children's Crusade, to

show its non-violent philosophy. In the end, he dedicates the book to Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Miller, a taxi driver who showed him around Dresden when the author and Bernard O'Hare visited it

during peacetime.

The first chapter of this book was unlike introductory chapters which I have read in the past. I kind of expected that with my limited knowledge of satires. It starts out with the author telling us about the story he is writing and why he is doing so. He was a soldier in Dresden. I think it is classic how he tries to please his friend's wife concerning the book and reassuring her about making the book nonviolent. The taxi driver made me laugh. How they both kind of had the same views about their own countries. It seems like one of his main concerns is not to look back and see what could have been, but instead to worry about the future.

Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time,