| Kurt Vonnegut Jr.(1922-)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 gain wide critical and popular acclaim and is surely his best achievement. The novel draws upon Vonnegut's personal experiences in World War Two. It uses the bombing of Dresden in World War II, which Vonnegut witnessed, as a starting point, using time travel as a plot device, combines science fiction elements with an analysis of the human condition from an uncommon perspective. Postmodern narrative techniques like montage, metafiction and non-linear narration are used in regenerating the history and revealing the multi-themes of the novel.Published at the height of the Vietnam War, the antiwar assertions in the novel is right in accord with the antiwar demand of the Americans, and just reflects the spirit of the time. Apart from the antiwar theme, the novel also exposes the present American social problems and discusses many other issues like death, regeneration, religion and humanity, etc.This thesis tries to take a close look into the postmodern features of Slaughterhouse-Five with its various themes that characterize the book as an outstanding piece of postmodern literature. The thesis is divided into four chapters.Chapter one is a brief introduction to the author and the novel with a general survey of the previous researches on Slaughterhouse-Five.Chapter two deals with the postmodern writing modes in Slaughterhouse-Five. In the first place, I will define and generalize the main features of postmodernism as to be discussed in my paper. Based on that definition, I will divide my observation on the postmodern writing modes in Slaughterhouse-Five in three aspects: First, the discontinuity of the narration, Vonnegut employs the sci-fi means of time travel, together with the use of montage technique so as to make the plot appear fragmented. A circular narrative structure is used instead of the traditional linear structure. Second, Slaughterhouse-Five can be read as a novel about how to write the novel, as Vonnegut,the author enters into the novel himself telling readers his writing plan, thus giving it a metaficional format. Finally, by employing the technique of parody Vonnegut makes Billy a Jesus-like figure.Chapter three is a detailed analysis of the theme of the novel. The chapter consists three parts. The first part discusses the primary and most obvious theme of this novel -the antiwar theme as Vonnegut clearly states at the beginning of the novel that the novel expresses an antiwar sentiment. The second part dwells on the theme of death. By listing numerous cases of death in the narration, Vonnegut drives home the feeling that everything in the universe is inevitably doomed. Since death is unavoidable, he suggests that people should "concentrate on the happy moments". The third part is about the theme of resignation. It seems that the characters in the novel have no will of their own and are led by the strong force of fate, and the proper response to life is one of resigned acceptance.Chapter four is a conclusion in which I summarize the structure and theme of the novel and point out the human concern that Vonnegut calls for in Slaughterhouse-Five. |
