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

Dresden and the Destruction of Vonneguts Dream The little dream Vonnegut took with him to war was notfounded on the detritus 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 human naturewere all alter by his experience in Dresden and these themesbecome evident in his novels. The common thread between all ofVonneguts themes is war.The bombing 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 molded many of Kurt Vonneguts philosophiesthat appear in his novels, especially Slaughterhouse quintuplet. WithSlaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut was able to deal directly with hiswar time nightmare (K linkowitz 225). In Slaughterhouse Five wewitness a moment of balance in Vonneguts life when he findshimself capable 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 humancondition, 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, observer and target all at the same time(Goldsmith ix). Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922 inIndianapolis, Indiana. He later served in the US Army Infantry.He was captured after the Battle of the Bulge and sent to Dresdento work in a factory. After organism awarded the Purple Heart in1967, he received the Guggenheim Fellowship to researchSlaughterhouse Five.