It follows the life and experiences of billy pilgrim, from his early years to his time as an american soldier and chaplains assistant during world war ii, to the postwar years, with billy occasionally traveling through time itself. A dutydance with death is a satirical novel by kurt vonnegut and is generally recognized as his most influential and popular work. Word count estimates are not guaranteed to be accurate. It also has one of the alltime great opening lines in literature as it begins what is surely one of the strangest meditations on war. Both themes support the authors thesis which i believe is. Centering on the infamous firebombing of dresden, billy pilgrims odyssey through time reflects the. The work was first published in 1969, and its considered an american classic.
A novel modern library 100 best novels has 288 pages. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Slaughterhousefive includes another feature often associated with postmodern fiction. Or we can calculate word counts ourselves by turning to the ruleofthumb that says each page is. Reading length provides a calculation for the word count of this book, find out. It is often assigned by college and high school reading and writing classes, especially when our president wants us to go out and kill somebody. Slaughterhousefive, an american classic, is one of the worlds great antiwar books. Though you know this book as slaughterhouse five, the full title is actually slaughterhouse five, or the childrens crusade. Slaughterhousefive kindle edition by vonnegut, kurt. Slaughterhousefive, antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, published in 1969. I am writing a paper comparing beloved and slaughterhouse five. Centering on the infamous world war ii firebombing of dresden, the novel is the result of what kurt vonnegut described as a twentythreeyear struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an american prisoner of war.
I say is, was and will be partly because the book is written in snatches small chunks of billys life from seemingly random points. I love to know the word counts of books and essays. Like the painter, most writers arent too focused on book length or statistics. List of books and articles about slaughterhousefive online. If you are an author of a book or know of a books accurate wordcount, contact me. The absurdist, nonlinear work blends science fiction with historical events, notably the dresden firebombing of world war ii. It is often picked as one of the best books of all time. Slaughterhousefive is the sixtyseventh entry to the american library associations list of the most frequently challenged books of 19901999 and number fortysix on the alas most frequently challenged books of 20002009. Slaughterhousefive simple english wikipedia, the free.
In his novel slaughterhousefive, kurt vonnegut embarks on a journey. Youll always save at least 25% on any paperback you order. Vonnegut muses on the book he has just written as an inevitable failure, and he resolves not to look back anymore. Ya novels, simply divide the total number of words by 250 to get a page count estimate. Slaughterhouse5 project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Learn more about slaughterhousefive, including its. From 1969, susan lardner on kurt vonneguts novel slaughterhousefive and the bombing of dresden. Semiautobiographical in nature, the novel is drawn from the vonneguts wartime experiences in world war ii. In 1998, the modern library ranked slaughterhouse five eighteenth on its list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels of the 20th century. Hes a brilliant writer, even if i know i will probably like another book of his better than slaughterhouse five. To find your reading speed you can take one of our wpm tests. Selected by the modern library as one of the 100 best novels of all time, slaughterhousefive, an american classic, is one of the worlds great antiwar books. A novel modern library 100 best novels 9780812988529. Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of.
Find out how long it will take you to read any book by using our book word count search. Slaughterhouse five is a very pessimistic book, and also a satire. Like catch22, it fashions the authors experiences in the second world war into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. The grandfather clock that fell on top of billy symbolizes the pressure of time on this particular man. Slaughterhouse five is a science fiction book by american author kurt vonnegut. Slaughterhousefive is a science fiction book by american author kurt vonnegut. Billy is able to move both forwards and backwards through his lifetime in an arbitrary cycle.
Jan 05, 2009 the entire first chapter of the book is omitted, hence the characters of kurt vonnegut and his old war buddy are also removed from the entirety of the movie. Parents need to know that kurt vonneguts classic science fiction novel slaughterhouse five makes an antiwar statement that is powerful in any generation. Slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade internet archive. Slaughterhousefive is a novel by kurt vonnegut that was first published in 1969. Famous quotes from slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut. This doesnt really affect the storyline and is an appropriate cut, if a disappointing one. 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 came out in 1969 near the height of the war in vietnam. Selected by the modern library as one of the 100 best novel. Search for a book, tell us how fast you read, and start reading. However, it will be on the short side, as the average length of a novel. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. The great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. This is one thing that works really well to deepen the meaning of. Vonneguts satirical, pessimistic, and yet morally urgent novels often portray the world as a place of cruelty and indifference and frequently protest the horrors of the 20th cent. It also has one of the alltime great opening lines in literature as it begins what is surely one of the strangest meditations on. A dutydance with death is a science fictioninfused antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, first published in 1969. Slaughter house five by kurt vonnegut, 9780440180296, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Slaughterhouse five, antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, published in 1969. It is clearly autobiographical, and it exists on a plane different from that on which the bulk.
Reading length is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to and affiliated sites. Slaughterhouse five is an account of billy pilgrims capture and incarceration by the germans during the last years of world war ii, and scattered throughout the narrative are episodes from billys life both before and after the war, and from his travels to the planet tralfamadore trawlfahmuhdoor. Slaughterhouse five taken from the name of the building where the pows were held is not only vonneguts most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. It lost both to the left hand of darkness, by ursula k. Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade. Kurt vonneguts novel slaughterhousefive 1969 was a popular and critical success. Most larger format books use the same size text blocks as regular fiction and nonfiction books so that theyre easy to read. Slaughterhouse five is a novel by kurt vonnegut that was first published in 1969. Like catch 22, it fashions the authors experiences in the second world war into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Set around world war ii, the novels tells of the story of billy pilgrim, a chaplains assistant, and his experiences and journeys through time. Centering on the infamous world war ii firebombing of dresden, the novel is the result of what vonnegut describes as a twentythreeyear struggle to write a book about what he himself witnessed as an american prisoner of war. Slaughterhousefive is an extremely entertaining read, and an important book for teen readers to explore more deeply in a classroom setting. It has been popular all over the world since its was published in 1969.
Collecting slaughterhousefive by vonnegut, kurt first. Predestination and free will in slaughterhouse five. Kurt vonneguts absurdist classic slaughterhousefive introduces us to billy. Learn more about slaughterhousefive, including its summary and characters. Why word count matters when you submit your book the artful. Why slaughterhousefive resonates 50 years later the. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following material.
Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade see other formats. Slaughterhouse 5 is about a time travelling american soldier during world war ii who is in the german city of dresden when it is bombed by the allies. Nov 11, 2003 slaughterhouse five is not only vonneguts most powerful book, it is also as important as any written since 1945. For example, vonneguts irreverent description of the conditions endured by soldiers, prisoners of war, and the victims of the dresden bombing said as much about the vietnam war taking place when the book was published 1969 as it did about. Vonnegut uses selfreference throughout the novel to call into question the truth of his and billy pilgrims report of the dresden bombings. Slaughterhouse five is part autobiographical, part sciencefiction, part sarcastic master work by kurt vonnegut. Central theme and thesis there are two main underlying themes throughout slaughterhouse five. Jul 01, 2010 slaughterhouse five was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a bestseller and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as catch22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade. Slaughterhousefive study guide literature guide litcharts. Word counts and other distractions griffin paul jackson. The content of chapter 1 in slaughterhouse five makes it seem more like a preface to the novel than part of the novel itself. Thats longer than wikipedias estimation of the typical novel length, but just about right as a. Apr 18, 2019 slaughterhouse five is an antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut.
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