Dresden and the Destruction of Vonneguts Dream :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

Dresden and the Destruction of Vonneguts Dream The little stargaze Vonnegut took with him to war was notfounded on the rubble of insanity, absurdity, and irrationalitythat he experienced in WWII. His dream was founded on order,stability, and justice. It was founded on what Dresdensymbolized. And when Dresden evaporated so too did Vonnegutsdream. (Klinkowitz 223) Vonneguts views on death, war, technology and gentleman naturewere all affected by his experience in Dresden and these themes fetch evident in his novels. The common thread between all ofVonneguts themes is war.The barrage of Dresden had a profoundimpact on the life and writing of Kurt Vonnegut. rarely hasa single incident so dominated the work of a writer (GoldsmithIX). World War II shaped many of Kurt Vonneguts philosophiesthat seem in his novels, especially Slaughterhouse Five. WithSlaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut was able to deal at one time with hiswar time night mare (Klinkowitz 225). In Slaughterhouse Five we catch a moment of balance in Vonneguts life when he findshimself adapted of dealing with the intense pain of his Dresdenexperience and ready to go on with the business of living. Ifthe war becomes a general metaphor for Vonneguts vision of benignantcondition, Dresden becomes the symbol, the quintessence (Reed186). What made the Dresden bombing even more horrible toVonnegut was that as a prisoner, he was ironically protected fromthe bombs and fire. Planes from his country did the bombing, andhe was perpetrator, perceiver and target all at the same time(Goldsmith ix). Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was natural on November 11, 1922 inIndianapolis, Indiana. He later served in the US legions Infantry.He was captured after the Battle of the Bulge and sent to Dresdento work in a factory. After being awarded the Purple Heart in1967, he received the Guggenheim Fellowship to researchSlaughterhous e Five.