This chapter contains a lot of death. I think it has something to do with the fact that the narrator is finally introducing Dresden. He is linking these two because of the inevitable destruction that eventually takes place in this town.
We see Billy Pilgrim's death in this chapter as well. He has by then become famous for his talks about time and Tralfamadore, and is doing a speech in Chicago. This is when something weird happens. Up till now, the narrator has kept true to the events of history. Obviously, this splitting up of America into 20 states is something completely fictitious that he makes up. Why though? Somewhere, I think the narrator developed a strong hate for the United States. "The United States of America has been Balkanized, has been divided into twenty petty nations so that it will never again be a threat to world peace." (Vonnegut 142)
This is what the narrator wants to happen. The destruction of Dresden marked him so heavily that he began to see his own country as a threat to world peace. I mentioned in my blog of chapter 1 that the bombing of Dresden seems to have had an enormous impact on the writer, so much so that he cannot even write about it. This hate for America is a clear demonstration of the impact the bombing of Dresden had on the author.
martes, 24 de febrero de 2009
lunes, 23 de febrero de 2009
Slaughter House Five: Chapter 5
Firstly, in relation to our discussion in class today about who is the narrator in the story, I found who is the narrator. "An American near Billy wailed that he had just excreted everything but his brains. Moments later he said, "There they go, there they go." He meant his brains. That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book. (Vonnegut 125) We don't get a name, but it becomes clear that it is not Billy, as I previously thought, narrating his own life. I assume we will later know who this guy is.
I also want to make reference to a passage I found interesting. " 'A Tralfamadorian test pilot presses a starter button, and the whole Universe dissapears.' So it goes. 'If you knew this,' said Billy, 'isn't there some way you can prevent it? Can't you keep the pilot from pressing the button?' 'He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way.' " (Vonnegut 117)
I go back to what I said in my previous blog about the Tralfamadorians being stuck in moments. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: It is as if the Tralfamadorians are characters in a book which was prewritten. They have no control over any specific action of theirs, but believe that everything is related to the specific moment they are supposed to be living. Everything is pre-written for them. Destiny for the Tralfamadorians is an absolute fact. They accept it though. They seem to have no frustration with the way they see the world.
In a sense I think Vonnegut is being satirical in the way the Tralfamadorians express their views on life. He presents a civilization which is stuck with an even bigger problem than that of time. No free will. To me, free will, the act of living, is the sole purpose for which we live. Without that, it is not worth living at all. The Tralfamadorians however, are fine with it. They accept the limitations they have been handed. Humans on the other hand, refuse to really accept the limitations of life, even though they are not as bad as what the Tralfamadorians are faced with.
I also want to make reference to a passage I found interesting. " 'A Tralfamadorian test pilot presses a starter button, and the whole Universe dissapears.' So it goes. 'If you knew this,' said Billy, 'isn't there some way you can prevent it? Can't you keep the pilot from pressing the button?' 'He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way.' " (Vonnegut 117)
I go back to what I said in my previous blog about the Tralfamadorians being stuck in moments. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: It is as if the Tralfamadorians are characters in a book which was prewritten. They have no control over any specific action of theirs, but believe that everything is related to the specific moment they are supposed to be living. Everything is pre-written for them. Destiny for the Tralfamadorians is an absolute fact. They accept it though. They seem to have no frustration with the way they see the world.
In a sense I think Vonnegut is being satirical in the way the Tralfamadorians express their views on life. He presents a civilization which is stuck with an even bigger problem than that of time. No free will. To me, free will, the act of living, is the sole purpose for which we live. Without that, it is not worth living at all. The Tralfamadorians however, are fine with it. They accept the limitations they have been handed. Humans on the other hand, refuse to really accept the limitations of life, even though they are not as bad as what the Tralfamadorians are faced with.
domingo, 22 de febrero de 2009
Slaughter House Five: Chapter 4
The Tralfamadorian's view of time is clearly stated in the 4th chapter. "Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." (Vonnegut 77)
It seems that we are trapped in the moments themselves. If time is no obstacle, all the different moments certainly become a huge one. "Trapped in the amber of this moment" Trapped.
After reading Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" the other day in class, every single word that I read poses the question why?
Why that word?
The word trapped is an illustration of its own.
In my opinion, being trapped in time is more acceptable than being trapped inside my own life moments. The limitations of yesterday, today, and tomorrow seem better than watching your own life from the side lines.
I believe that man's frustration with life will be highly escalated through Billy Pilgrim's eyes i this novel. Chained to his own life, Billy begins to lose his memory of what life is. It's as if his life was a gigantic, repeating, deja vu.
It seems that we are trapped in the moments themselves. If time is no obstacle, all the different moments certainly become a huge one. "Trapped in the amber of this moment" Trapped.
After reading Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" the other day in class, every single word that I read poses the question why?
Why that word?
The word trapped is an illustration of its own.
In my opinion, being trapped in time is more acceptable than being trapped inside my own life moments. The limitations of yesterday, today, and tomorrow seem better than watching your own life from the side lines.
I believe that man's frustration with life will be highly escalated through Billy Pilgrim's eyes i this novel. Chained to his own life, Billy begins to lose his memory of what life is. It's as if his life was a gigantic, repeating, deja vu.
Slaughter House Five: Chapter 3
More and more I begin to see the outline of how this novel is going to be written. At first, everything was a bit confusing because of how different the 1st and 2nd chapter were in terms of everything.
The story centers around the war and Billy Pilgrim's capture. Although Billy isn't the writer, it seems as though the narrator is Billy himself, only narrating his life in third person. The story really focuses on the events of Billy's capture and where they take him, and his thoughts and what not, but it wanders off into moments in the past or future which have some relation or the other to what is happening during his capture.
It is really interesting to see how life was for Billy during his capture. You seldom hear of what he has to say when you talk about WWII. This capture, which happened to many, is an important experience, even though all the main stories don't focus on this part of the war. Billy, however, doesn't seem to mind. Other characters present in the capture are going through things which Billy himself doesn't seem to experience; as if he was a person unstuck in the moment. He doesn't feel the pain in his feet like Roland Weary. He doesn't know his place in the army, much less does he show affection for his regiment like Wild Bob.
This point is very important to the development of the story, and I've actually seen it in the scenes where Billy is not in the war as well. Billy's uncoming stuck in time means that he's not living any moment in his life anymore, but rather watching his life go by; as though he were sitting in a movie theater watching a film that shows every moment of his life. The consequence of coming unstuck in time then, is worse than death because Billy isn't actually living any single moment of his life anymore, just watching helplessly.
The story centers around the war and Billy Pilgrim's capture. Although Billy isn't the writer, it seems as though the narrator is Billy himself, only narrating his life in third person. The story really focuses on the events of Billy's capture and where they take him, and his thoughts and what not, but it wanders off into moments in the past or future which have some relation or the other to what is happening during his capture.
It is really interesting to see how life was for Billy during his capture. You seldom hear of what he has to say when you talk about WWII. This capture, which happened to many, is an important experience, even though all the main stories don't focus on this part of the war. Billy, however, doesn't seem to mind. Other characters present in the capture are going through things which Billy himself doesn't seem to experience; as if he was a person unstuck in the moment. He doesn't feel the pain in his feet like Roland Weary. He doesn't know his place in the army, much less does he show affection for his regiment like Wild Bob.
This point is very important to the development of the story, and I've actually seen it in the scenes where Billy is not in the war as well. Billy's uncoming stuck in time means that he's not living any moment in his life anymore, but rather watching his life go by; as though he were sitting in a movie theater watching a film that shows every moment of his life. The consequence of coming unstuck in time then, is worse than death because Billy isn't actually living any single moment of his life anymore, just watching helplessly.
Slaughter House Five: Chapter 2
The story really begins in Chapter 2. The writing is much more like a story, and it makes the 1st chapter seem as though it was a weird kind of introduction to the entire novel. For that reason, I'll try to always keep in mind what it said as I read the rest of the book.
I really really like the whole idea behind his coming unstuck in time. The whole Tralfamadorian view on time is awesome to think about. I had always wondered about different worlds and dimensions and how they would see time. This point of view is very interesting when thinking about those things. It makes death not an obstacle, and it takes away the depression that comes when you think a moment only lasts that exact moment.
I've always wondered if there are a million copies of one's self. This idea seems to indicate that there is one you for every moment you experience throughout life, regardless of past, present, or future.
I don't think that Billy really thinks he has been captured by aliens and taken to Tralfamadore. Instead, I think it is a huge personification of an epiphany he had at sometime in his life, which makes him realize what he tells he realized in Tralfamadore. His vision of that planet and how its inhabitants live is really the way he wants the world to function; further incrementing his frustration with life.
I really really like the whole idea behind his coming unstuck in time. The whole Tralfamadorian view on time is awesome to think about. I had always wondered about different worlds and dimensions and how they would see time. This point of view is very interesting when thinking about those things. It makes death not an obstacle, and it takes away the depression that comes when you think a moment only lasts that exact moment.
I've always wondered if there are a million copies of one's self. This idea seems to indicate that there is one you for every moment you experience throughout life, regardless of past, present, or future.
I don't think that Billy really thinks he has been captured by aliens and taken to Tralfamadore. Instead, I think it is a huge personification of an epiphany he had at sometime in his life, which makes him realize what he tells he realized in Tralfamadore. His vision of that planet and how its inhabitants live is really the way he wants the world to function; further incrementing his frustration with life.
miércoles, 18 de febrero de 2009
Slaughter House 5: Chapter 1
As I read the first chapter of the book, I realized that it is written very much like a blog. Sure, all the grammar and stuff is there, but the way in which the author seems to ramble with his thoughts resembles the way one would write a blog. The literary style in this first chapter is very different than what I am used to reading.
I realize that the main character seems confused. This Dresden event has marked him in a very deep way, so much to the point that he cannot describe with words what it was that he experienced. In fact, his memories don't even suffice. He mentions how he has tried countless times to write of Dresden, but everything he writes about it doesn't work.
In a far fetched way, this reminds me of the Bourne Identity in the way that an event has marked the character so deeply that it has changed his life completely. Memories of the event fade away but its reality is present in every thought, every dream, every breath.
I realize that the main character seems confused. This Dresden event has marked him in a very deep way, so much to the point that he cannot describe with words what it was that he experienced. In fact, his memories don't even suffice. He mentions how he has tried countless times to write of Dresden, but everything he writes about it doesn't work.
In a far fetched way, this reminds me of the Bourne Identity in the way that an event has marked the character so deeply that it has changed his life completely. Memories of the event fade away but its reality is present in every thought, every dream, every breath.
martes, 10 de febrero de 2009
What is a blog?
The differences between a blog and a book are many. One of them is the liberty with which blogs are written and the confinements of writing a book. Another difference is the actual way in which these are written; while a blog often ignores many grammatical rules and tendencies and is free to roam without restriction, a book must always be grammatically correct and doesnt posses the same freedom in writing as a blog.
When blogs first came out, bloggers didn't offer much commentary but rather posted links to websites they liked, a sort of filter for what to read. Now a days, bloggers offer a lot of commentary on their subject, whether it is criticism, acclaim, disgrace, etc.
The purpose of reading a blog is to find commentary about a specific topic in which you are interested. You might read a blog to find out whether a book is worth reading or whether a movie is worth watching.
You might question a blog's objectivity because of its simple nature. You don't know who wrote it or whether they are knowledgeable about what they are blogging about. Also, blogs in their nature are subjective.
There are many blogs around the world which discuss our summer reading. I set out to find blogs that talked about George Orwell's 1984, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and Dante's Inferno.
When blogs first came out, bloggers didn't offer much commentary but rather posted links to websites they liked, a sort of filter for what to read. Now a days, bloggers offer a lot of commentary on their subject, whether it is criticism, acclaim, disgrace, etc.
The purpose of reading a blog is to find commentary about a specific topic in which you are interested. You might read a blog to find out whether a book is worth reading or whether a movie is worth watching.
You might question a blog's objectivity because of its simple nature. You don't know who wrote it or whether they are knowledgeable about what they are blogging about. Also, blogs in their nature are subjective.
There are many blogs around the world which discuss our summer reading. I set out to find blogs that talked about George Orwell's 1984, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and Dante's Inferno.
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