The Features Of Humanism In Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is a satirical novel of Vonnegut about experiences and journeys through time of a soldier called Billy Pilgrim. Ranked the18th greatest English language novel of the20th century by Modern Library, it is generally recognized as Vonnegut’s most influential and popular work. Slaughterhouse-Five contains many different kinds of elements to demonstrate the author’s unique humanism and his concerns about the future of human or society due to the impact of World War II. The novel reflects the social realities in a unique way and the stories in the novel are other aspects of life then. The novel repeatedly mixes the real world with fiction. Slaughterhouse-Five speaks of the fire-bombing of Dresden in World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Black anti-poverty racial riots in American cities during the1960s. Although the novel is very popular and catches lots of attentions, the study of Slaughterhouse-Five is still limited in postmodern writing strategies. So this thesis intends to make such attempt to analyze the features of humanism from the different perspective.Humanism attaches importance to the value and the right of human beings and the life without violence. It also advocates freedom of individuality and the development of human morality. In the novel, the experiences of Billy and other characters reflect three aspects of humanism:the antiwar consciousness, the quest for freedom and the concern of human development.Through text analysis and theoretical elaboration, this thesis attempts to show Vonnegut’s different humanistic cares and the concern of struggle of human nature. And it consists of three chapters. Chapter One focuses on the antiwar consciousness of humanism in the novel. It contains three parts including the censure of the destruction of violence, the sympathy of traumatic personal experience and the respect for life. In this chapter, the author analyzed Vonnegut’s antiwar consciousness through the encounters of Billy or himself during the war. Chapter Two probes into the theme of freedom in the novel, including cherishing for the freedom of existence and valuing the freedom of choice. This chapter explored the living situation at that time and desire for escape from the slaughterhouse. Chapter Three mainly explores Vonnegut’s concerns for human development, especially the establishment of right human value and belief.Finally, conclusion is drawn that in the novel, Vonnegut shows his special human attitudes towards the lives of different characters, especially Billy. It justifies that Vonnegut has a unique human awareness and different personalities.