Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five depicts the story about Billy Pilgrim. An American soldier who was a prisoner in war in Dresden, Germany. During his time in Dresden, Billy faced many hardships. By profession, he was an optometrist. Flashbacks are used to tell the story of Billy in several episodes. The novel is constructed in typical postmodern fiction. This is because the author tells Billy his story and Billy recounts his story in Dresden. Postmodernism depicts a lot human experience. The novel’s most evident human experience is its metafictional core, which makes it a modern novel that relies upon metafiction. Slaughterhouse Five’s first chapter is an example of the author’s account of how he came about writing the novel.
Yon Yonson. I am a Wisconsin resident.
There is a lumbermill where I work.
I am pleasantly surprised at the people I meet on the streets.
They ask: “What’s the name of your child?”
I’m here to tell you,
“My name Yon Yonson”
I work in Wisconsin…’
So on to Infinity (Vonnegut. pg. 3).
These were the lyrics Vonnegut thought of as he wrote about Dresden. The novel portrays postmodernism throughout. Slaughterhouse Five demonstrates the importance of liberty, live sufferings, and building hopes for peace. Not only did the Second World War leave its footprints on the continent, it also left an imprint all around the globe.
Many thinkers began to use the postmodernist terminology to describe the history and world after the horrors of World War II. Human arts, particularly literature, have been affected by this. Before the advent postmodernity, literature was frequently praised in a single way. Vonnegut therefore offers an ‘antitraditional narrative point’ from which to view the authors in the novel. “Edgar Derby,” a high school teacher who would eventually be executed, snored one (Vonnegut)’. It is this reference to the climax that the authors emphasize on the importance for ‘executing Edgar Derby.’ He is widely regarded as being the embodiment modern literature. Edgar was killed for stealing the Dresden rubble teapot. Vonnegut remarks on the irony that Edgar survived the firebombings of Dresden and was executed for a minor crime.
However, it is possible to experiment with narrative devices within fiction text. This is the best position. Slaughterhouse Five contains a self-conscious commentary on its metafictional text. The whole novel exposes the terrible consequences of Dresden’s destruction. The plot reveals the terrible events that took place in Dresden after the attack. He is talking about the effects of the Dresden bombing which decimated almost everything, as well as how the city was rebuilt. The fictional work is a prime example of metafictional postmodern status. Conjuctions were used to emphasize the postmodern text.
Postmodern also examines innovative literary devices and techniques used in fiction. It is the renewal of ideas that were previously experimental. Vonnegut is a master of this literacy. Vonnegut describes himself as the composer of strong techniques. Double voice discourse is used to approach the author’s voice. The novel is an important factor in determining where the author stands in the novel. Vonnegut is not the author of the novel. He employs double voiced vision. This technique allows him to express his opinions on the novel.
Narration is dominated by the focalization factor. It is the key factor that determines the narrative viewpoint from which the story will be told. The text’s focalization, like many other elements of narrative, adds self reflection to the text. It is a metafiction that allows authors and narrators to comment on the novel. Focalization has the critical potential to make a plot more unusual. It is subtle and transforms an ordinary event into something that is quite normal. The stories tell of the extrodinary happenings in Dresden. However, focalization can be manipulative. While this manipulation can be consciously created, a self reflective comment is made on the surface. Dresden, Germany is the spatial location. The novel’s temporal setting is also connected. “I am reminded of how insignificant the Dresden part of mine has been, but how appealing Dresden has been to me to write about, and I am reminded again of the famous limerick:(Vonnegut.p.2).” This is where the focalization object is time and place. These two are linked to break free from the traditional representation of a place in fiction texts. The ground field of a text is placed if it is narrated within the specified time frame. Since slaughterhouse five is constructed as a postmodern metaphorical device, the object that focalizes consolidates its technical aspects. In addition, authorial voices are approached through double-voiced discourse. Discourse categories, classifications and their interpretations are all subject to author’s voices. The text is still important in determining authorial positions in the text. The text is not intiated. As the text proceeds, a double-voiced view is revealed. The author’s abstract voice is reflected in the fictional situation. Double-voiced dialogism is also a powerful technique that relates the author’s perspective on the scene. The main narrative voice is what draws out the text. Critically, it is argued that the main voice of the text is the narrative perspective. The narrative begins at a specific point in the text. The authorial voice is a dual-voiced narrative perspective. However, the narrative highlights a particular ideology in postmodern fiction. Metafictional devices include the interplay between author and narrative in the text. Slaughterhouse Five, on the other hand, uses an abstract authorial voice to enact the story in the text. Vonnegut is most concerned about the Second World War’s consequences and how they destroyed American individuality. The novel depicts this by showing Billy walking through the streets feeling normal. He is not able to see the truth in the normality displayed by the entities around him, but it is a facade that he believes represents reality.
Slaughterhouse Five can be described as postmodern literature. It depicts fictional novels which expose the horrific consequences of Second World War. It is the portrayal of reality that goes beyond the textual structure. Contemporary narrative styles lack a certain context, just as modern literature copies the techniques and styles of older literature. Postmodernism is now a predilection to abandon modernism and its dependence on pre-exsiting litray modes. Modern literature is a monotonous imitation of these basic elements. In Vonnegut’s postmodern fiction, however, these elements are modified. In a postmodern perspective of reality, such manipulation is widespread. The author’s perception of the current categorical change of the moment will affect the relative vision. Vonnegut employs metafictional techniques to introduce his critical view through the narrator. The plot is a fictional interplay of reality and abstract vision. He provides a foundation for understanding the American people suffering from the Second World War. Works cited
Atchison, Steven T. (2008). The Spark of the text: Toward an ethical reading for traumatized literature. University of North Carolina Greensboro. pp, 1-33.
Majeed, Abdullahmeed A., Termizi, Arbaayah B.T. A scholarly journal devoted to the study of foreign languages, cultures, and civilizations. June 2015, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 72-78.
Vonnegut, Kurt. (2007) . “Slaughterhouse Five”. New York: Dial Press published the book. Pp,1-215.
