slaughterhousefive

Job A: Zach Job B: Nicole Job C: Emily Job D: Ryan **
 * __Week 1__ __(read up to chapter 3)__

So far in slaughterhouse-five, the reader has only been introduced to three characters. Vonnegut's entire first chapter is essentially his introduction, where he talks about his personal inspiration for the book. His personality shines through not just in the chapter, but in the entire reading so far, which is why I have chosen to include him as one of the main characters, although he did not technically include himself in the story. The author mentioned in his preface that he tried multiple times to write this novel, and ended up throwing it away and starting from scratch each time until he felt he finally got it right. Mr. Morone brought up the fact that Vonnegut is known for writing exactly what he thinks with very few inhibitions. These two things helped contribute to the main character, Billy, who is slightly insane, and who believes he is capable of basically traveling in time. Many author's try to write a novel chronologically; however, sometimes memories come in waves, not in an organized chronological line. Therefore, Billy explains how he can relive different sections of his life at any given time, and will often travel between the times of his birth and death. He seems to be sort of flighty, sometimes detached, and lacks emotion. He appears indifferent to bitter cold or other sensations, which are all traits that are associated with the his special capability. In the book, Vonnegut, the author, more or less based his character, Billy, off of himself. The only other character of significance that has been introduced so far is Roland. He is an American soldier who is found along with two trained scouts and Billy behind enemy lines. Roland is an extremely violent, angry, insecure young man. While trekking through the woods, he envisions becoming a hero, and pictures him as a member of the Three Musketeers along with the two scouts he has encountered. He has an exaggerated, romanticized view of heroism, and is angry and embarrassed when the Scouts ditch him and Billy in the woods. At the end of the chapter, Roland blames Billy for getting ditched and brutally beats him. Roland then reveals that he has been ditched many times in his life, and hopes that one day things will be different.
 * __Job B: Nicole Rifkin__**


 * __Job C: Emily Considine__**

We started out talking about Malcolm X and other things going on including our weekend, before we delved into the idea of Kurt Vonnegut’s writing style. Zach brought up that he thought Vonnegut’s style was almost speaking to the audience. We spoke about becoming ‘unstuck in time’ which the main character Billy Pilgrim is almost time traveling throughout his own life. We spoke about Tralfamadoreians and how we viewed them in our mind’s eye. We spoke about why we thought Weary took care of Billy and I argued that Weary was mental unstable for the moment while Nicole and Zach thought that he wasn’t mental unstable, but just a little out of it, so bundled up in his gear that he was seeing something differently. Ryan asked all of his questions and Nicole had a good point that Kurt Vonnegut writes in the way people usually think, instead in a chronological time of events that we’re used to seeing in books.


 * __Job D: Ryan Simpson__**

1. Why does the narrator decide to write this book about World War II and the firebombing of Dresden? Zach: He wanted to write about something he lived through Nicole: It was his life's experience Emily: It was his way of his coming to terms with it. 2. What is the symbolic meaning of Billy Pilgrim's supposed moving through time? Nicole: Thinking about his life, Vonnegut couldn't write chronologically, but in the order of what he thinks of. 3. What do you think is the author's symbolic meaning of the Tralfamadorian view of death? Ryan: Vonnegut is saying that people should not look back and dwell on one's death, but move on Emily: People who die are still alive in your memories, so you should move on with your life Nicole: People who die must be celebrated, not mourned Zach: As long as someone is remembered, he is still alive 4. Why does Roland Weary try to protect Billy? Zach: He was ditched so many times, so he saw himself in Billy 5. Why does Roland imagine he and the scouts as heroes (calling them The Three Musketeers)? Emily: He is completely delusional Ryan: He wants to think of himself as stronger than he actually is and he wants to think that he actually has friends Nicole + Zach: Roland has been ditched many times, so he likes to think of himself as part of a group

Job A: Ryan Job B: Zach Job C: Nicole Job D: Emily
 * __Week 2__ (read up to chapter 5) **

One of Kurt Vonnegut’s signature traits is his writing style. Mr. Vonnegut is said to “just write,” meaning he doesn’t worry about whether his sentences sound good or how complex they are. This leads him to write in a very straightforward, matter of fact way. He never sends you running to the dictionary or reading a sentence twice. Make no mistake, though, his plots are as deep as Shakespeare and Dickens, having social commentary that is spot on. His choppy style even adds to another of his famous characteristics: his dark sense of humor. Whenever he mentions a death in // Slaughterhouse-Five //, he then states, “So it goes.” That three sentence word sums up the concept in a way that is so simple, it’s brilliant. What else is there to say? It conveys to the reader a sense that tragedy is so common, it’s almost insignificant. I said in English class, “My nine-year-old brother could write these sentences.” That is exactly what makes Kurt Vonnegut great. The brilliance is in the simplicity.
 * __Job B: Zach__**

absent **
 * __Job C: Nicole__

Why do you think Billy was smiling after he came out of the shrubbery?**
 * __Job D: Emily__
 * Zack:** He was in another point in time so he wasn’t concentrating on them. He was in another moment in time; a happier place.
 * Ryan:** It was a staged picture. He doesn’t really take anything seriously; he’s in his own little world so if he wants to smile he’ll smile.
 * Why do you think that the stripes on the German cars and on the tent for Billy’s daughter’s wedding were the same?**
 * Zack:** A recurring theme, a constant thread that holds the story together. Maybe it’s Kurt Vonnegut’s favorite colors. Maybe we’re reading too far into it.
 * Emily:** Maybe it’s the same as Billy being forced to be on the train and waiting for something to never happen--like his daughter with her marriage.
 * Ryan:** Maybe his daughter doesn’t want to get married; they are symbolized of that marriage.
 * Why do you think that Billy compared the night he was capture by the Tralfamadore’s to the war?**
 * Zack**: When he was changing times so much, he almost ceased existing in both times; wasn’t really sure where he was anymore and went into a limbo type thing.
 * Ryan**: Maybe he feels dead; he’s swallowed up by the moment without having an impact on it. Like he couldn’t help when the Tralfamadore’s took him away--maybe he never had free will to being with.
 * Why do you think that ‘free will’ is only mentioned on Earth, and why do you think other planets don’t believe in it?**
 * Ryan:** Because they know more than we do. They know we are all part of a greater course of events and what will happen is happen, and what we want to do to stop it we won’t be able to stop it.
 * Emily:** That humans are the only ones who believe that they can change the future if they try and if they could do the things they want to do.
 * Zack**: Humans are in denial because human nature wants to control things, and that maybe their nature isn’t so, controlling, or condescending.
 * What do you think the Tralfamadore’s symbolize now that we’ve read more about them and know the history of Billy and his abduction?**
 * Zack:** They showed him a new philosophy that will help him cope with his ability [to travel through time.]
 * Ryan:** He’s kind of their chosen person. He asks ‘Why me?’ and the Tralfamordores are just ‘You are’. Billy’s ‘unstuck in time’ is going to consume him, he is his time travel, not some guy who’s just gonna travel through time.

Job A: Emily Job B: Ryan Job C: Zach Job D: Nicole
 * __Week 3__** (Read up to chapter 7)

The tone of the story is that it is very straightforward. In a way, the story is very apathetic. Billy seems to not care as he moves through life, even as he becomes unstuck in time. Also, the novel has a very peculiar response to death. Whereas most books would have the emotion of extreme sadness when death is mentioned, this one shows no emotion. Whenever there is a death, the words "So it goes" are written. It is described as that you should not mourn someone's death because they are still alive at another point in time. But, this can also mean that, in simplest terms, "Shit Happens". Crying over someone's death will not bring them back to life, so there is no point to it. It is a much better use of time to just move on with your life that to focus on something that you cannot change. Any emotion in the book is very subtle. It is almost as if all emotion is written without any emotion. For example, when Billy's daughter expresses her sadness about how her father is going crazy, he usually responds to her in a very matter-of-fact way, taking away from the emotions of the moment. As Billy moves through time, it seems as if he is bored with his own life. He often seems oblivious to what is going on, and almost floats through his own existence.
 * __Job B: Ryan__**


 * __Job C: Zach__**

We started by eating the delicious Entennmann’s All Butter Loaf Cake that Emily brought. I personally expected Emily to whip out a block of butter and slice it for us to eat, but it wound up being an amazing cake! Ryan was a little apprehensive and never wound up eating it. Then, in response to a comment Emily’s Dad made this morning, I defended Toto’s (yes the dog’s) honor. At last, we entered discussion and had interesting talks about the Tralfamodorian view of time (which is that everything has already happened. Time is not sequential.) Then, we talked about whether or not Slaughter-house should be taught in schools. I said “no,” but Nikki and Emily thought it should be. I thought that while // Slaughter-house Five // is an interesting story, its educational value is minimal. It is after all, a science fiction story about a time-traveling World War II veteran. Then, somehow, Mr. Morone told about a sarcastic article that said the Irish should have eaten babies during the potato famine. We debated this for some strange reason. It was a great meeting!


 * __Job D: Nicole__**

1) What was your reaction to the Tralfamadorian books (books that are a collection of short, urgent messages that have no relation to each other. The Tralfamadorians read it all at the same time and admire it all at once) Ryan said he liked the idea that they view a piece of literature as a whole. Emily prefers regular "Earth" books because she likes the suspense. I personally would love to be able to read a book that way. I can name a number of books that I hated reading, but loved the ending of, and I feel like this would give me a new and interesting perspective on literature.

2) Why do you think Vonnegut was trying to convey when he chose the intergalactic planet as one of his novel's settings. In other words, what is it symbolic of? Emily thought that it symbolized a simpler world without war. Although we recently learned that there is conflict on Tralfamador, the reader only sees it in peaceful times. Vonnegut thought it would be unrealistic to have complete peace on Earth, so he created a new society where peace is plausible for his anti-war book. I though that the planet itself wasn't symbolic, but the setting allowed Billy to travel through time while on Tralfamador, which meant that Vonnegut therefore had the opportunity to write the novel in such a random style.

3) What are your predictions for the rest of the book? Ryan said that this book is one of the most bizarre ones he has ever read, and said he couldn't possibly predict what would happen next, especially since nothing happens chronologically. Zach said he thought that somewhere along the line, the reader would witness Billy's death in the book.

4) What are ways you have noticed Billy has grown and developed through the novel? We all agreed that the biggest change we saw in Billy was when he was with his wife. Billy was always kind of scatterbrained, a little goofy, and always smiley, even in the worst of situations. However, with his wife, Valencia, he somehow seemed to be a little bit more down to Earth and a little bit less silly and happy.

5) What did you think of the idea that unicorns and werewolves and all sorts of magical beings exist, but in the fourth dimension. Zach thought that was silly because the 4th dimension is time and other beings can't exist in time. Emily liked the idea that all these things that don't exist are real, but we just can't see them I don't like the quote because I don't understand how humans would //know// about unicorns or werewolves if nobody could actually witness them. I enjoy the idea that magical creatures can exist in another world, I just don't see how we could know what kind of magical creature.

6) What was your reaction to the scene where the Tralfamadorians explain how the world ends and Billy asks why they haven't done anything to change it, and they reply that "The moment is structured that way". Zach thought it had to do with group think and mob mentality, and nobody had the courage to change it. He explained that people in certain situations will act a certain way -- people are more likely to respond to the stimulus of the situation. Since the situation wasn't an urgent one, since they could travel back in time any time they wanted, they didn't have the motivation to react. Ryan brought up the movie Back to the future, and related it to how the main character changes the whole course of the future by changing one moment. He said that the Tralfamadorians were wise not to meddle, because the end of the universe was an inevitable fate anyway.

7) What was your reaction to the quote where an American prisoner asks "Why me?" and the soldier responds "Vy you? Vy anybody?" I think I was the only one who found this quote especially profound. When I read it, it just jumped off the page at me. I feel like it is such a great, relevant question. It is basically asking why the world works. I thought this was especially interesting that Vonnegut raised this question in his story.

8) What was your reaction to Billy's giraffe dream? What do you think it was symbolic of? Emily cited the part in Billy's crazy dream where the passage said "The giraffes accepted Billy as one of their own, as a harmless creature as preposterously specialized as themselves". She said that Billy didn't really have an close relationships in his life, and his subconscious was yearning for companionship and acceptance. We all agreed with this answer.

Job A: Nicole (Zach covered because Nicole was absent) Job B: Emily Job C: Ryan (absent) Job D: Zach __Job B: Emily Considine__**
 * __Week 4:__ (read up to chapter 9)

The themes and images of the book so far have been one of sadness and almost the act and art of giving up on things. The time-travel that occurs, and Billy Pilgrim’s (the main character) interaction with the Tralfamadorians was just a way to show him that everything was planned out and happened for a reason. It happened that he was in this war to tell the stories and become the person he was. To know that his experiences weren’t for nothing because he came out of them a different person. While Billy struggled through the book believing his only way to live was to give up on things (there are many examples of this) the opposite was true. He was trying to be shown that even if he couldn’t change things, he could still live his life to the fullest. //Emily- People want to be known as unique and machines are usually meant to do// //one thing and one thing only.// //Zach- People want to be in control of their lives and don’t like the idea of being// //controlled.// //Emily- He had already been introduced by the Tralfamadorians and he knew that// //whatever would happen would happen. If he had warned someone, he// //would have been laughed at and it would have happened anyway.// //Zach- He doesn’t view death as a bad thing. He knows its only temporary so why// //should he prevent.// //Emily- Yeah, I’ve had songs remind of my childhood// //Zach- Yes. I’ve actually read about veterans with PTSD receiving treatments that// //focus on music.// //Emily- It’s possible, but it matters how broken their mentality is.// //Zach- I don’t think that ever really happened. Maybe some isolated incidents took place, but the Nazis themselves stood for everything anti-America.// //Emily- He didn’t downplay it, he just didn’t want to put in too many details. Short// //and poignant.// //Zach- The book wasn’t really about the fire-bombing of Dresden. It was about the emotions behind the war and the effects it had on people.//
 * __Job D: Zach Weinstein__**
 * 1) What does it mean that someone is “a machine”? Why do you think people are offended by being called “machines”?
 * 1) Why didn’t Billy warn anybody that the airplane was going to crash? He said he “didn’t want to make a fool of himself by saying so.” Was that his real reason?
 * 1) Is it possible for music to have an intense physical reaction with a person, like how Billy, when he was reminded of the German guards, became physically ill?
 * 1) Do you think that any captured American soldiers became Nazis? Could Campbell have been brainwashed?
 * 1) Does anyone think that Vonnegut downplayed the fire-bombing of Dresden? It seemed like the whole book was supposed to be about it and it only lasted about 3 pages.

Job A: Nicole (repaying Zach) Job B: Nicole Job C: Emily Job D: Ryan
 * __Week 5__** (finish book)

When describing this unique book, the first words that come to mind are bizarre, strange, and odd. However, our group unanimously agreed that we all enjoyed reading it. It was well written without being annoyingly detailed (ahem, Dickens), kept the reader moving at a brisk pace through time and space, and made it impossible to predict what was coming next. None of us were ever bored. It gave an interesting history of the war while keeping the mood light. As soon as Billy experienced a tragic or intense war event, Vonnegut would send the reader to tralfamador or to Billy's optometry office, ensuring that it never got too heated. Despite the fact that the novel played down the tragedies of war, it showed enough hardship to discourage anybody from going into battle. I would absolutely recommend this to be put on the school's curriculum. It is one of the few classics that I have been exposed to that really encourages teenagers to read. It was never slow or dull, and yet, is a powerful piece of American literature and carries two important messages. The first is, of course, the anti-war message, but the second is to never take anything too seriously. The tralfamadorian view of things is a very optimistic one: that everybody lives and dies at some point, and that there is nothing we can do to change that. It is a lesson that everybody should take note of. Overall, I think we would all recommend this book to anybody willing to read it.
 * __Job B: Nicole Rifkin__**


 * __Job C: Ryan Simpson (making up for last week)__**

We started the meeting with some delicious bagels and orange juice, courtesy of Nicole. We then went about discussing the book and came to the consensus that we all liked it. Zach especially liked it, referring to it as one of his favorite books. We then went about discussing the end of the novel. When asked the meaning of Montana Wildhack's necklace, Nicole stated that it is an example of an earthling who is enlightened. We all soon agreed with her. We were also on pretty much the same page with why Billy does not care more about his own life. Overall, while discussing the meeting, we were quite calm, and there were not many arguments.

The meeting also became rather silly. Somehow, we got on the topic of music, and discussed the songs that each generation should be ashamed of. Mr. Morone brought up the incomparable Kris Kross and their hit song "Jump". We watched the video and it truly was a disgrace to music. For our generation, several songs came up. "Who Let the Dog's Out", "Barbie Girl", and just about anything by Aaron Carter were among the top votegetters. Emily and I then went about singing "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, before we were silenced by Mr. Morone. Overall, this meeting was quite fun, as were the other four meetings for this novel.


 * __Job D: Ryan Simpson__**

1. What is the meaning of Montana Wildhack's necklace? Nicole: It is the same view as that of the Tralfamadorians, that you can't change everything and should only try to change the things you can 2. What, in your opinion, was Billy thinking as Dresden was being bombed? Zach: He was oblivious to the bombings and just heard a thud Ryan: He was definitely sitting in the slaughterhouse, counting down on his watch "3, 2, 1" until the bombings started. 3. What is the significance of Kilgore Trout? Emily: Kilgore Trout represents Kurt Vonnegut as an author. Various characters represent him in different ways, but this is his author side. Nicole: He is one of the few Earthlings enlightened about the Tralfamadorians 4. Why doesn't Billy care more about his own life? Zach: He already knows what will happen, so he sees no reason to try Emily: Since he is unstuck in time, nothing in his life surprises him. 5. Why does the narrator refer to all of the destruction of Dresden as walking across the face of the “Moon”? Nicole: It was just the surface of the ground, how it looked like giant craters Ryan: Calling it the moon makes it seem so far away and distant, and represents Dresden, with was completely desolate after the bombings.