Lindsey Shrout Olivia Blute Sydney Loew BRIEF, URGENT MESSAGE
SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE
Slide 2
LA COLOMBA, JEAN-MICHAEL BASQUIAT (183 X 336 CM), ACRYLIC, OIL,
PENCIL AND INK ON CANVAS PRIVATE COLLECTION
Slide 3
NOTES: PAINTING La colomba translates to The Dove in Italian.
While the protagonist of the piece is a two-headed figure, it
actually represents the dove, however, it is sickly. This symbol of
peace no longer serves as an image of peace, but instead, as an
image of suffering. The piece is a dichotomy of the inside and
outside of the head. The panel on the left contains images of pain,
torture, and suffering. The protagonist attempts to understand his
pain. The right arm holds a white flag of peace, as the protagonist
attempts to alleviate his suffering and arrive at the solution of
peace, but his left arm is amputated. While the protagonist aims to
reach peace, he is tortured by the symbol of defeat, a negative
image of an olive branch (the top right green scribble).
Slide 4
NOTES: CONNECTED TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE In this piece, Basquiat
evokes the same theme of suffering as Vonnegut. Particularly
similar, is the realization of suffering. Although when looking at
this piece, one does not immediately understand the mood because of
the jumbled style, the symbols, when viewed with greater detail,
evoke the suffering concept. Similarly, Billy understands his pain
when Vonnegut writes, The barbershop quartet sand again. Billy was
emotionally racked again. The experience was definitely associated
with those four men and not what they sang (176). Billy thought
hard about the effect the quartet had on him, and then found an
association with an experience he had long ago. He did not travel
in time to the experience. He remembered it (177). This form of
abreaction that Billy undergoes plays into his realization of
suffering. In order to alleviate ones suffering, one must face the
problem. Like this painting that evokes the mood of suffering from
a jumbled standpoint of thrashing brush strokes and corrupt peace
imagery, Billy faces his problems, and feels pain. Also, he takes
off the mask that he wears, which hides his pain, and lets himself
suffer. Much like Billy, the left panel physically confronts pain,
and the right panel continues to jumble the source of the
suffering.
Slide 5
VIRGIN WITH THE DEAD CHRIST, ARTIST UNKNOWN 2 10 HIGH, WOOD
RHEINISCHES LANDESMUSEUM, BONN, GERMANY
Slide 6
NOTES: SCULPTURE Virgin with the Dead Christ is also known as
Piet, which is a work of art of a crucified Christ with the
grieving Mary. All piets, suggest pain and suffering because Mary
loses her son to the crucifixion. In this particular piet, the
Crown of Thorns is prominently on Christ as his body is emaciated.
This adds to the overall suffering, and forces the viewer to feel
the pain in a form of repulsion. This religious theme is humanized
because of Christs emaciated body, further proving the theme of
pain.
Slide 7
NOTES: CONNECTED TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE Mary OHare says,
enraged about the glorification of war, Youll pretend you were men
instead of babies, and youll be played in the movies by Frank
Sinatra and John Wayne or some of those other glamorous,
war-loving, dirty old men. And war will look just wonderful, so
well have a lot more of them. And theyll be fought by babies like
the babies upstairs (14). Mary OHare has a similar reaction as the
Virgin Mary that grieves in the Piet because she, too is protective
of her children. Both scenes depict the suffering of children, and
although this particular quote does not show the actual suffering
that the young soldiers felt, it does assert the pain through a
mothers viewpoint. Although it is not the glory of war that killed
the Christ child, the same image of human suffering is present in
both, especially the theme of the mother suffering due to loss of
child. Vonnegut extracted suffering from the boxcar scene, when he
wrote, Billy didnt want to drop from the car to the ground. He
sincerely believed that he would shatter like glass. So the guards
helped him down, cooing still. They set him down, cooing still.
They set him down facing the train (81). Even the Germans realize
how young, innocent and fragile the American prisoners of war were.
They are children, like Christ, who undergo suffering, which
corrupts their innocence. The soldiers volunteer for war,
sacrificing themselves, and in both this picture and in
Slaughterhouse-Five, they are acting older, but still are innocent
and as a result feel pain.
Slide 8
EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN, MASACCIO (208 X 88 CM),
FRESCO BRANCACCI CHAPEL
Slide 9
NOTES: PAINTING In this piece, the traditional theme of the
expulsion of Adam and Eve is depicted. Masaccio imbued the painting
with intense emotion shown by the figures facial expressions. Adam
hides face in shame and Eve hides her body in shame as she lets out
a cry of anguish. The bleak background adds to the overall message
of pain because it represents desolation outside of the Garden of
Eden. Masaccio depicted this moment of severe suffering that the
viewer would be able to immediately understand. The heavy
brushstrokes and subtle use of light add to the bleakness and
drama, which bring drastic emotion into the painting.
Slide 10
NOTES: CONNECTED TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE Vonnegut describes the
suffering that resulted from the Dresden bombing when he wrote,
Nobody talked much as the expedition crossed the moon. There was
nothing appropriate to say. One thing was clear: Absolutely
everybody in the city was supposed to be dead, regardless of what
they were, and that anybody that moved in it represented a flaw in
the design. There were to be no moon men at all (180). Like Adam
and Eve, Billy is expelled from a safe place. While Adam and Eves
safe place was Eden, Billys was Slaughterhouse-Five. While a
slaughterhouse greatly differs from the idyllic Eden, the same
image of suffering outside of the haven can be seen. Adam and Eve
enter a complete state of desolation as does Billy when he enters
the ruins of Dresden. Dresden is described as a moon at first, but
the crater-like terrain is not magical, it is dangerous. Although
Billy does not show his suffering as prominently as Eve, the
description of Dresden serves as the image of total destruction and
pain that inflicted the innocent civilians.
Slide 11
AT THE END OF THE DAY- LES MIS
http://www.metrolyrics.com/at-the-end-of-the-day-lyrics-les-miserables.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJzmP8BfYM (start at 0:37 and end
at 1:15) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJzmP8BfYM At the end of
the day you're another day older And that's all you can say for the
life of the poor It's a struggle, it's a war And there's nothing
that anyone's giving One more day standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be living. At the end of the day you're another day
colder And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill And
the righteous hurry past They don't hear the little ones crying And
the winter is coming on fast, ready to kill One day nearer to
dying!
Slide 12
CONNECTION TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE At the End of the Day from
Les Mis conveys the idea that death is inevitable, which is shown
in Slaughterhouse 5. The poor in Les Mis know that their deaths are
quickly approaching, but there isnt anything they can do to change
it. They continue on to the next day knowing it could be their
last, similar to Billy who knows when he is going to die and
predicts his own death within an hour (142). The passive way the
women talk about approaching death proves this song to be the
anthem for So it goes. While set in two different time periods and
in two different nations both Billy and the poor French workers
have become numb to death. Whether being in France at the time of
Les Mis or in WWII, the struggles one faces changes the outlook on
the unavoidable death everyone must endure. One may be able to
question life and what is it for but when it comes to death, things
cant be changed. So it goes.
Slide 13
FOR YOU- KEITH URBAN
http://www.elyrics.net/read/k/keith-urban-lyrics/for-you-lyrics.html
All I saw was smoke and fire I didn't feel a thing But suddenly I
was rising higher
Slide 14
CONNECTION TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE Looking at the above lines
specfically, one can envision the scene when Billy first becomes
unstuck in time. As Billy sat against a tree in the middle of the
forest his attention began to swing grandly through the full arc of
his life (43). Both Billy and the voice of the song lose touch with
reality and seem to float away in the middle of a brutal war-time
situation. Both should struggle to stay in the here and now during
an important time. Both the song lyrics and Billys experience are
written passively which show how the men are looking back onto
their actions in the parallelled situations. In the song, the man
didnt feel a thing while in the book Billy jumped to a memory where
he was numb as his father carried him (44) and threw him into the
pool. These two references show how in situations of high stress a
persons mind and body will disconnect themselves from the real
world. If Vonnegut had to pick a song to play during this scene For
You would paint the best image for the reader.
Slide 15
THE A TEAM-ED SHEERAN
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/edsheeran/theateam.html Stuck in her
daydream Been this way since eighteen But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting Crumbling like pastries And they
scream
Slide 16
CONNECTION TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE Trapped. With nowhere to go.
No where to hide. Both Billy and the girl spoken about in The A
Team are in this situation. When Billy was in Tralfamadore and
living in the zoo escape was out of the question (112). The girl is
trapped due to the drugs she has taken and she is unable to escape
the viscious cyle she has been pulled into. With choppy lines, her
suffering and struggle can be felt. This emotion while trapped is a
divide between the two. The girl suffers when she is trapped while
Billy is content with being stuck in the zoo. Zooming out from
Billys time in the zoo it can be seen that he isnt really trapped.
Truthfully, he is unstuck and is free to move in time. In The A
Team, the girl hasnt changed or moved since eighteen and is frozen
in time, continuously trapped. The song portrays time as frozen and
like progress cant be made. Give this song to Vonnegut and he would
quickly point out this different reaction, in response to
suffering.
Slide 17
WHERE IS THE LOVE? BY THE BLACK EYED PEAS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FotCW5OIFZc People killin', people
dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what
you preach And would you turn the other cheek
Slide 18
CONNECTION TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE This song embodies almost
everything that Vonnegut talks about in Slaughterhouse Five,
especially the idea of suffering. The chorus of the song says,
People killin', people dyin', children hurt and you hear them
cryin, can you practice what you preach and would you turn the
other cheek, which discusses not only human suffering, but also how
people so easily ignore it and allow it to go on. Its blunt, like
the novel, in how it serves you with the fact that people are dying
and hurting and nobody helps them. Vonnegut talks about turning the
other cheek with his repetition of the phrase so it goes. With this
phrase, he proves how people move on and life goes on while all of
these tragedies, like the childrens crusade and the bombing of
Dresden happen. He nonchalantly describes the deaths in Dresden by
saying, It was the next night that about one hundred and thirty
thousand people in Dresden would die. So it goes (165). Through all
of this, Billy Pilgrim just spoons himself the sweet syrup and
hundreds of soldiers lay in the protective shield of the
slaughterhouse. Nobody stops it or lets it affect them; they only
care about themselves.
Slide 19
REMINDER BY MUMFORD AND SONS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6lbvoI0gM8 So watch the world tear
us apart A stoic mind and bleeding heart You never see my bleeding
heart
Slide 20
CONNECTION TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE Reminder by Mumford and Sons
describes the feeling, or lack thereof, as the world around you is
getting destroyed, as you do the destroying. By the use of stoic
they show how theres no actual emotion to, no feeling, as violence
and suffering ensue. Nobody pays attention to the pain, or cares
about those who were destroyed, which is shown in you never see my
bleeding heart. People always focus on the soldiers, the ones who
are fighting for their country, but not the victims who get
mercilessly killed for no reason. Like in Slaughterhouse Five, all
of the soldiers kill so easily, but they all just assume its the
price that comes with war. When Billy talks with Bertram Rumfoord
during his stay in the hospital post war, he eventually tells him
that he was at Dresden during the bombing. The conversation goes,
It had to be done, Rumfoord told Billy, speaking of the destruction
of Dresden. I know, said Billy. Thats war. I know. It must have
been hell on the ground. It was. Pity the men who had to do it
(198). First of all, Rumfoords only explanation for the thousands
of civilian deaths in Dresden is that its war. He doesnt even
sympathize with the ones who died, only the ones who had to kill.
Just like the song, he just accepts that those who die had to die
and those who did could only watch.
Slide 21
DUST IN THE WIND BY KANSAS Dust in the wind, all we are is dust
in the wind
Slide 22
CONNECTION TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE The chorus of this song,
which is dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind, talks
about the idea that everybody can disappear so easily, just like
dust fades seamlessly into the air without anyone noticing. This
goes back to the theme of how death is inevitable in life and
eventually, everybody will fade away no matter what. Vonnegut
introduced this theme within the first chapter of the book when he
says, Do you know what I say to people when I hear theyre writing
anti-war books...I say, Why dont you write an anti- glacier book
instead? He meant, of course, that there would always be wars (5).
Here, Vonnegut says how war and death is inevitable, and writing a
novel about how wrong everything about them are wont talk away the
fact that they will always happen. People will always die, there is
no way around it, just like there will always be glaciers, which
connects to the theme of the inevitability of death discussed in
the song, too.
