1969 SlaughterhouseFiveOrtheChildren

• (Vonnegut, 1969) ⇒ Kurt Vonnegut. (1969). “Slaughterhouse-five: Or, the Children's Crusade, a Duty-dance with Death.” Modern Library.

Subject Headings: Science Fiction, War Novel, Antiwar Novel, Metafiction, Bombing of Dresden in World War II,

Cited By

• http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%221969%22+Slaughterhouse-five%3A+Or%2C+the+Children%27s+Crusade%2C+a+Duty-dance+with+Death

2019

• (Wikipedia, 2019) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughterhouse-Five Retrieved:2019-4-14.
  • Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death (1969) is a science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut about the World War II experiences and journeys through time of Billy Pilgrim, from his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant, to postwar and early years. A central event is Pilgrim's survival of the Allies' firebombing of Dresden as a prisoner-of-war, an event which Vonnegut lived throuch as a captured serviceman. The work has been called an example of "unmatched moral clarity" and "one of the most enduring antiwar novels of all time".

Quotes

“Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.”

“And so it goes...”

“And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.”

“How nice -- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive.”

“And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.”

“I have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone.”

“Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.”

“America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register.

Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.” - Why me?
- That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?
- Yes.
- Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.”

References

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	Author	volume	Date Value	title	type	journal	titleUrl	doi	note	year
1969 SlaughterhouseFiveOrtheChildren	Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)			Slaughterhouse-five: Or, the Children's Crusade, a Duty-dance with Death						1969