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Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five. DEATH IN LIT. Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007 Born in Indianapolis, IN Prosperous German-American family. ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Parents spoke German; didn’t teach Kurt Why? Attended private school until Depression Family lost inherited fortune How might this affect Kurt?.

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Slaughterhouse-Five

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  1. Slaughterhouse-Five DEATH IN LIT

  2. Kurt Vonnegut • 1922-2007 • Born in Indianapolis, IN • Prosperous German-American family ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  3. Parents spoke German; didn’t teach Kurt • Why? • Attended private school until Depression • Family lost inherited fortune • How might this affect Kurt? ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  4. Switched to public high school • Edited school newspaper • Studied biochemistry at Cornell • Any assumptions you’ve made about him?His attitude? ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  5. 1942 – quit college to enlist in army • 1944 – on Mother’s Day, returned home to find mom had committed suicide • 1944 – (December) captured by Germans in Battle of the Bulge ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  6. Kept prisoner in Dresden slaughterhouse • Survived firebombing that killed 135,000 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  7. Emerged from meat locker; found all dead • Put to work as “corpse miner” • Any guesses about Vonnegut’s mental state at this point in his life? ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  8. Post-war, married childhood sweetheart • Worked as police reporter, publicist, writer • Wrote many short stories and novels • Player Piano • The Sirens of Titan • Cat’s Cradle • Hocus Pocus ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  9. Compassionate tone • Uses irony • Elements of sci-fi, satire, black humor • Why might these be characteristics of Vonnegut’s writing? AUTHOR’S STYLE

  10. Highly accessible language • Frequent use of cynical refrains • Non-linear, cyclical structure • Pessimism • What can we expect of this novel? AUTHOR’S STYLE

  11. World War II • Germany • Horrific massacre in Dresden (firebombing) • February 13, 1945 • Over 130,00 civilians died • Tantamount to damage atomic bomb did • Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEItXS35g8o HISTORICAL CONTEXT

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