Though you know this book as Slaughterhouse-Five, the full title is actually Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death.When main character Billy Pilgrim winds up in Dresden, Germany, as a prisoner of war (POW) in World War II, he and 100 other American POWs are kept in an abandoned slaughterhouse called Slaughterhouse-Five.
Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1969.It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years to his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant during World War II, to the postwar years, with Billy occasionally traveling through time itself.
Although Slaughterhouse-Five as a physical space only appears in the novel in a few sections, it is a powerful symbol running through the entire work. It is, ironically, in this slaughterhouse where animals were killed and butchered that Billy, Derby, Lazzaro, and others are spared from the slaughter taking place outside: the firebombing of Dresden by Allied (US and UK) forces.
Slaughterhouse-Five is replete with sexist, racist language, as exemplified by Lionel Merble and the barbershop quartet. The barbershop quartet's singing vulgar songs calls attention to the transgressions among many everyday people. The degrading songs that Merble and the quartet so enjoy emphasize the point that no character is totally good. However, no character is all bad, either. After all.
Essay Slaughterhouse Five Analysis. decisions to make. While it was not always clear which path was the best to take, it was the audience’s personal duty to craft their own conclusion. Comparably, the theme of fate versus free will is addressed frequently in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse Five. As the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim.