Why does Vonnegut link the atrocities of war with humor and science fiction? What is he trying to accomplish?
Vonnegut uses Billy as the protagonist to narrate and tell his own story; Vonnegut IS Billy Pilgrim, and Billy's growing self awareness of the ignorance of humanity on the subject of war is crucial throughout the development of the story. Also, he satirizes the repression of emotions that most people experience who go through war, and this helps to bring to light the issues that our country has with war itself. This tactic of combining humor and science fiction with antiwar ideals is effective as a reader, mainly because of its subtle yet powerful war it awakens people to the issues that have been and are still going on int he world today. There is much irony in the humor used in the novel and perhaps the humor makes the subject matter stand out that much more.
In Chapter 9, how does Vonnegut use the character Rumfoord and his conversations with Billy to make his points about the Dresden Bombing?
In Chapter 9, how does Vonnegut use the character Rumfoord and his conversations with Billy to make his points about the Dresden Bombing?
Rumfoord’s character as a reporter represents the ignorance that people sometimes generally exhibit when it comes to details and circumstances about war. When Billy offers information about the Dresden bombing, Rumfoord does not want to hear it, perhaps because he simply does not want to know the real incidents of the event. This conversation that Billy has with Rumfoord shows the propaganda that is often involved in reporting the events of war, especially the war in Vietnam, because Americans did not know the status or the actual events of the war while it was going on. Rumfoord represents the typical reporter who would rather not know the gory details of the war mainly because it is his job to keep the world sheltered from that information.
This further points out the ignorance of people when it comes to events of war, or even war itself, and Vonnegut means to criticize our culture through Rumfoord's character, displaying that many people do not care to even ask the "real" events of the wars that our country takes place in. People would rather live in blissful ignorance rather than face the truth, according to Vonnegut, which is that war is devastating and has a great destructiveness to it that many people overlook because our society has always tolerated the actions.
This further points out the ignorance of people when it comes to events of war, or even war itself, and Vonnegut means to criticize our culture through Rumfoord's character, displaying that many people do not care to even ask the "real" events of the wars that our country takes place in. People would rather live in blissful ignorance rather than face the truth, according to Vonnegut, which is that war is devastating and has a great destructiveness to it that many people overlook because our society has always tolerated the actions.
