In Chapter 10, Vonnegut used the saying "So it goes" many different times. Evey time that Billy explained how a character had died, he followed it by "So it goes". Even though it was one of the shortest chapters in the book, "So it goes" was used more than in any other chapter. For example, on a single page in chapter 10 it was used three times and in other chapters. "Martin Luther King was shot a month ago. He died. So it goes" Throughout the course of the novel, Vonnegut has frequently used "so it goes." Every death or reference to death is followed by "So it goes." I believe that Vonnegut does this because once someone has passed away, there is nothing that one can do about it. Every death in the novel that is followed by "So it goes" symbolizes that all the deaths are dealt with in the same way. So by saying "So it Goes" Vonnegut is showing us that that particular death is just another death. So it goes.
Showing posts with label Post 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Post 1. Show all posts
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Chapter 10 Motif
In Chapter 10, Vonnegut used the saying "So it goes" many different times. Evey time that Billy explained how a character had died, he followed it by "So it goes". Even though it was one of the shortest chapters in the book, "So it goes" was used more than in any other chapter. For example, on a single page in chapter 10 it was used three times and in other chapters. "Martin Luther King was shot a month ago. He died. So it goes" Throughout the course of the novel, Vonnegut has frequently used "so it goes." Every death or reference to death is followed by "So it goes." I believe that Vonnegut does this because once someone has passed away, there is nothing that one can do about it. Every death in the novel that is followed by "So it goes" symbolizes that all the deaths are dealt with in the same way. So by saying "So it Goes" Vonnegut is showing us that that particular death is just another death. So it goes.
Chapter 9 Motif
Motif: any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature. Using a motif refers to the repetition of a specific theme dominating the literary work.
At the beginning of chapter 9, the only word to describe the scene is endless love. The literary device of motif is seen through the endless love for Billy Pilgrim from Valencia. Throughout the novel, we have seen the love that Valencia has for Billy grow. Even to the end of her life, Valencia cared for Billy. Even the last moment of her life were spent caring for Billy. Her love for Billy was so strong that when she found out that he might die, she was overcome with emotions. She was so overcome with emotions that she wrecked her car to the point that she shouldn't be driving it. She didn't even consider any of the risks of driving her car to the hospital. All she cared about was Billy. From the time that we met Valencia, we knew that she was in love with Billy. Even through all of his hard times in the war, Valencia stood by his side and always loved him. From the first moment we met her to the last moment we saw her, her love for Billy continued to grow stronger than ever until the end.
At the beginning of chapter 9, the only word to describe the scene is endless love. The literary device of motif is seen through the endless love for Billy Pilgrim from Valencia. Throughout the novel, we have seen the love that Valencia has for Billy grow. Even to the end of her life, Valencia cared for Billy. Even the last moment of her life were spent caring for Billy. Her love for Billy was so strong that when she found out that he might die, she was overcome with emotions. She was so overcome with emotions that she wrecked her car to the point that she shouldn't be driving it. She didn't even consider any of the risks of driving her car to the hospital. All she cared about was Billy. From the time that we met Valencia, we knew that she was in love with Billy. Even through all of his hard times in the war, Valencia stood by his side and always loved him. From the first moment we met her to the last moment we saw her, her love for Billy continued to grow stronger than ever until the end.
Chapter 8 Imagery
One the first page of Chapter 8, Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American who had become a nazi came to speak to the soldiers two days before Dresden was destroyed. On this page, Vonnegut used imagery to allow the reader to see what Howard W. Campbell Jr. really looked like. His fine detail allowed the reader to really visualize what Campbell looked like as he was speaking to the Americans.
"Campbell was an ordinary looking man, but he was extravagantly costumed in a uniform of his own design. He wore a white ten-gallon hat and black cowboy boots decorated with swastikas and stars. He was sheathed in a blue body stocking which had yellow stripes running from his armpits to his ankles. His shoulder patch was a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln's profile on a field of pale green. He had a broad armband which was red, with a blue swastika in a circle of white."
Vonnegut used imagery in this particular part of the chapter to allow the reader to see what the character actualy looked like. His specific attention to all the details made it easy for the reader to create a mental picture of what the soldiers were really seeing. The soldiers may have all been tired and ready to be done with the day, but after the statement that Campbell made in his clothing, he got their attention. Campbell really wanted them to join the front line of the Russians. Vonnegut's great use of imagery allowed the reader to really visualize Howard W. Campbell Jr.!!
"Campbell was an ordinary looking man, but he was extravagantly costumed in a uniform of his own design. He wore a white ten-gallon hat and black cowboy boots decorated with swastikas and stars. He was sheathed in a blue body stocking which had yellow stripes running from his armpits to his ankles. His shoulder patch was a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln's profile on a field of pale green. He had a broad armband which was red, with a blue swastika in a circle of white."
Vonnegut used imagery in this particular part of the chapter to allow the reader to see what the character actualy looked like. His specific attention to all the details made it easy for the reader to create a mental picture of what the soldiers were really seeing. The soldiers may have all been tired and ready to be done with the day, but after the statement that Campbell made in his clothing, he got their attention. Campbell really wanted them to join the front line of the Russians. Vonnegut's great use of imagery allowed the reader to really visualize Howard W. Campbell Jr.!!
Chapter 5 Flashbacks
Throughout Chapter 5, I have noticed many more flashbacks than usual. Usually during one chapter, the story flashes back maybe 3 or 4 times, but throughout this chapter there have been an increasingly more amount of flashbacks. Not only are there are more flashbacks because the chapter is so much longer, but more action also occurs. Billy Pilgrim has traveled farther back in time than in previous chapters. During this chapter it flashes back to him being captured in the war and receiving his dog tags. We, the readers, also find out about the death of Ronald Weary and how he convinced everyone that Billy Pilgrim was the one who killed him. We also learn about his time after the war. When he was in the mental hospital about three years after the war. We learn that he is engaged to Valencia, who loves to eat chocolate bars, and how he hides every time his mother comes to visit him. Many things are revealed in this chapter.
Throughout this chapter we learn a lot more about his family life and his life outside of the war. His fiancee, Valencia, visits him frequently when he is in the mental hospital and talks to him about many different events. One of the events that they are currently planning is their wedding. We learn that Billy is willing to go along with whatever Valencia wants. We also learn that she is taking these decisions way more seriously than Billy Pilgrim is. We learn that he did not even want to propose to her, but he did anyways. While he is with his fiancee planning the wedding, he finds himself in a zoo in Tralfamadore. He is a forty-four year old man on display in a reclining chair. Vonnegut, through the use of flasbacks, made it easier for the reader to understand why Billy Pilgrim is the way that he is in present time.
Vonnegut's point in these very frequent flashbacks is to show how Billy Pilgrim's past has shaped him into the man that he is in the present day. Vonnegut also adds these flashbacks to show how different things connect to points in his life.
Throughout this chapter we learn a lot more about his family life and his life outside of the war. His fiancee, Valencia, visits him frequently when he is in the mental hospital and talks to him about many different events. One of the events that they are currently planning is their wedding. We learn that Billy is willing to go along with whatever Valencia wants. We also learn that she is taking these decisions way more seriously than Billy Pilgrim is. We learn that he did not even want to propose to her, but he did anyways. While he is with his fiancee planning the wedding, he finds himself in a zoo in Tralfamadore. He is a forty-four year old man on display in a reclining chair. Vonnegut, through the use of flasbacks, made it easier for the reader to understand why Billy Pilgrim is the way that he is in present time.
Vonnegut's point in these very frequent flashbacks is to show how Billy Pilgrim's past has shaped him into the man that he is in the present day. Vonnegut also adds these flashbacks to show how different things connect to points in his life.
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