Monday, April 23, 2012

Slaughterhouse-Five Humor

"It can also be useful in rocketry." p.80

While weaving through time, war, and the mind of complex man, Vonnegut finds room for some humor. After telling the story of when Billy "shit thin gruel" after coughing. He follows it up with a condescendingly funny explanation of Newton's Third Law of Motion. There are several times when Vonnegut relieves his story with strong humor. The effect it creates is to lighten the mood. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was a horrid story meant to be gloomy and awful. Vonnegut also faces heavy and odd issues like war and time travel. He tells his story but weaves the humor in to keep the reader light and ready for the satire and sarcasm he also invokes. Vonnegut's purpose, whatever that it, isn't to just tell a great story like Shelley but to leave the reader wandering about the world and its workings.

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