Trauma·History·Recovery

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is one of the most important postmodernist novelists in contemporary literary history of America. Slaughterhouse-Five; or the Children's Crusade, a Duty Dance with Death is his first novel to receive wide critical and popular acclaim and is undoubtedly his best achievement. The novel draws upon Vonnegut's personal experience as a starting point, the bombing of Dresden in World War II, to express his attitude and stance towards war and human nature as well as his deep concerns about human's living state and living environment. Many critics sing high praise for the novel's structure, and the skilled application of postmodernism creative techniques but show negligence in author's creative thinking and personal viewpoint. The thesis, which employs trauma theory coupled with context perusal in analysis of protagonist's traumatic etiology, symptoms and working through trauma, probes and reflects what Vonnegut wishes to deliver: to confront and rely on the cruel historical authenticity, to cultivate proper value towards human life and to pursue man's harmonious coinhabitationThe main body consists of five chapters and a conclusion. Chapter one is a brief introduction to Kurt Vonnegut's life and career and the sketch of Slaughterhouse-Five. Chapter two defines the trauma and trauma theory, narrates the historical development of trauma conceptualization, and presents the relation between trauma and fiction. Chapter three concentrates on the causes and symptoms of trauma from Billy Pilgrim as well as witness and testimony of Dresden Bombing to reveal human natures. Chapter four deals with the literary styles and techniques integrated with trauma. Chapter five locates working through trauma from the perspectives of family and writing. In the conclusion, the author's deep worry and concerns about the human nature and human's future have been clearly revealed.