Slaughterhouse 5 Blog

PREWRITING.doc

Please list 10 ways you can improve your essay scores

1.Prepare more                                                                    

2.Take more time

3.Don't rush an idea

4.Talk to Mr. Cheng more

5.Come in early every now and then

6.Go to the writing center

7.Talk to my abnormally good looking para Erik

8.Review my papers with my case worker

9.Get familiar with the Diana Hacker handbook

10.Have peers look over my papers and give constructive thoughts

Please write any 15 thoughts about the book Slaughterhouse-5.  For each thought, please refer to a specific part of the book that generated this thought (for instance, “It was funny” receives no credit; “It was funny when he described the Tralfamadorians” receives full credit).

1.It is interesting how well the Americans are treated by the Germans compared to the Jews.

2.It was funny how Kurt Vonnecut relates everything to sex.

3.I like when Kurt Vonnecut has you thinking about Billy in the war for a second and the next he is on Tralfamadoria.

4.I like the mix of fiction and non fiction togeather.

5.I wonder if Billy was suffering from a mental disorder.

6.Many signs in the book point towards Billy dealing with Post Trumatic Stress Disorder

7.I wonder why Vonnegut included himself in the Dresden portion of the text

8.I believe, after some research, that Kilgore Trout IS Kurt Vonnegut

9.It makes me wonder about what kind of treatment that the mentally ill recieved in that era

10.How does Billy's life go on after his death, if we look at the book from a Tralfamadorian sense?

11.Who else was in the Tralfamadorian Zoo?

12.I would have liked to know more about what happened to Montana Wildhack.  Why does Billy never go in detail about the supposed child they had?

13.I wonder how the public reacted when the novel was published?  Did THEY see it as an anti-war book?

14.Do previous opinions on the book still hold true today?  Does our current situation globally change anything?

15.I wonder why Vonnegut decided to make Billy so meek and dumb?

State 5 possible themes for the book Slaughterhouse-5.

1. War can have a terrible effect on the mental state of soldiers.

2. A man is defined by his values and how he acts.

3.Everything is impermanent.

4.Sex is a frightening or alternately dull thing.

5.Death can only be understood by those that see it firsthand.

Write a conversation between yourself and Billy Pilgrim in which he tries to teach you a lesson based on his own experiences.  You must explain IN DEPTH at least 3 specific events and details from the book in order to receive full credit.  This conversation should go on as long as it takes to demonstrate YOUR UNDERSTANDING of Billy’s experiences.

Billy: Hey hey hey Matty!

Me: What's poppin' big dog?

Billy: So have you finally understood all the ideas about Tralfamadorian time?

Me:...

Billy: Seriously, its some crazy stuff.

Me: Billy, YOU'RE some crazy stuff.

Billy: No it makes a lot of sense.  Tralfamadorians see time in a very different way.  They see our entire lives set out before us.  It is like looking at a kalideoscope of events.  They are all pre-determined but still moving.  It is why they don't get sad about death.  It just means that the person who died is in a bad spot at THAT moment.  Not every single moment.

Me: Billy, you need to get some help. 

Billy: Also, did you watch those Montana Wildhack films that I sent you?

Me: Yeah Billy, that was weird.  Why were you sending me sixty year old dirty movies?

Billy: First, I thought you'd dig understand the cinematic history that lead up to Paris Hilton's film career but I also wanted to brag that she and I totally hooked up on an alien planet.

The Five Manly Quotes of Macbeth

    The famous philosopher Plato once stated, "The man who makes everything lead to happiness depends upon himself and not upon other men."  The definition of manliness has always been "being assertive and having control of your present and future."  In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, he addresses the idea of manliness in the main character Macbeth.
    One example of Shakespeare's view on manliness comes when Lady Macbeth is attempting to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.  Lady Macbeth says, "What best was't then that made you break this enterprise to me?  When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man" (1.7, 53-58).  This is showing that Shakespeare believes that the male should have dominant and competitive qualities.  If he doesn't, he can't truly be called a man.
     Another example of Shakespeare's views on manliness occurs when Macbeth states, "Hang out our banners on the outward walls.  The cry is still 'They come!' our castle's strength.  Will Laugh a siege to scorn. Here let them lie.  Till famine and the ague eat them up.  Were they not forced with those that should be ours, We might have met them dareful, beard to beard, And beat them backward home. " (5.5, 1-8). In this quote, Macbeth is talking about the man in side of him that he is bringing to the war for who will be the true king of Scottland. The man who has started this war against Macbeth is the son of the once known king, Malcolm. The reason for why Malcolm does not controlle the royal thrown of Scottland is due to Macbeth murdering the old king that was later blamed on him for fleeing of Scottland to England.  This is important because Shakespeare believes that men should be constantly trying to better their position in life and to keep control of what, potentially, could be theirs.
    Another example of manliness in Macbeth happens as Macbeth says, "I have almost  forgot the tast of fears."  (5.5,19).  Macbeth has just heard the scream of terror from a woman. The scream heard from many men was due to the Lady Macbeth's suicide.  Shakespeare's opinion on manliness also seems to include that he should care about his wife and her safety.
    Macbeth displays manliness when he states, "I will not yeild to kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet and to be baited with th rabble's curse. though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane and thou opposed, being og no woman born, yet I will try the last" (5.8, 32-37).  This is spoken to Macduff during one of the final battles in the text.  Macbeth is proclaiming that, despite the prophecy coming true, he is not afriad to fight for the crown that he believes is his.  This displays Shakespeare's version of manliness because he is brave in the face of insurmountable odds.
    Another example of the idea of manliness comes when Macbeth states, "That will never be.  Who can impress the forest, bid the tree, unfix his earthbound root?" (4.1, 108-110).  In the quote, Macbeth is talking to the witches.  He believes that there is no way to have their prophecy come true, so he is free to become King without any consequences.  This is important because it shows that Shakespeare believes that arrogance plays a big role in manliness.