Write a response to or commentary about one of the Vonnegut quotes from the handout provided. Explain how the quote reveals something about Vonnegut that can also be found in his writing. Make a connection between the quote and the novel or a personal connection to the topic or message in the quote that you've chosen.
Humor is an almost physiological response to fear. - KV
This statement applies to everyone in some point in their lives. I remember experiences in elementary school, when I shrugged things off as a joke on the exterior, whilst my insides were jumping with disquieting fright. Vonnegut's absolutely right.
This quote is also quite evident in Kurt's own novel. The humor Vonnegut employs in SH11 hides his deepest fears of the war. All the horrors that he witnessed, when narrated in the book, is shrugged off with a tone of dark humor. Kurt's comrades get perforated with bullets until they resemble swiss cheese; so it goes. He sees and smells the burning corpses of Dresden; so it goes. Kurt uses this bland, repetitive humor to cover up his fears.
I thought of a couple of more examples, but my eyes are bleary, and I don't want to make it all formal... I'd like you to meet a long-time friend of mine: point-form.
- When Billy, Weary, and two scouts are stranded in enemy territory, it's obviously a hopeless situation for them: weak, tired, dejected, the situation couldn't be any worse. Vonnegut uses Weary's delusional mind, however, to lighten the mood and entertain the reader. Remember Weary's 3 musketeer exploits running vividly inside his own head? How he wraps his arms around the shoulders of the two scouts saying, "So what shall the musketeer's do about this?"...and then the scouts ditch him and Billy. I found that quite humorous, but also realized that perhaps Kurt was trying to mask his pain and fear at that time with some comedic relief.
- Another is Billy's silly apparel that he wore while being a POW; I recall the shiny silver Cinderella boots the most. The tight small flamboyant vest that accentuated Billy's armpits were also hilarious. Again, the portrayal of such a silly character could have been part of Kurt's attempt to mask the gruesome realities and conditions of being a POW. It is true that Kurt was POW during the real war in his lifetime...
-Finally, the whole feces incident at the POW camp, when a person is heard saying, "I just about defecated everything except my brains. [Moments later]...there they go." There were a bunch of amusing comments that diminished the real fears and horrors of that scene, such as the illness of the American troops and the god-awful stench that must have filled the entire camp.
So from all these examples, I noticed that Vonnegut tries extremely and excessively hard to incorporate humor into Slaughterhouse 11. His quote "Humor is an almost physiological fear to fear" can attest to that. Maybe Kurt is using comedy as a means to deter himself, and the readers, from facing the absolutely fearful events that he witnessed in the war.
Again, sorry for a lack of organization and formality to my thoughts, but I suppose you'll be more lenient with grammar and typical structure since it's a blog.
That is all.
*Slaughterhouse-Five...not 11
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, Vonnegut is using humour to mask his fears, but I don't think he's really trying THAT hard. He's just sort of calling it as he sees it.
And I can't believe I read that whole post.
Really? I find his comedy to be a bit bromidic. But I read your post. You can think he's hillarrious, and I totally respect that.
ReplyDelete(don't apologize for point form...its better than a 6 paragraph essay...so good call!)
ReplyDeleteI like all the examples you used, when seperated from the rest of the text I can see your point about Vonnegut trying hard (I wouldn't say extremely) to use humour but at the same time I think it's better b/c I wouldn't want to read a book about war as he truly saw it.
If you think that KV is masking his fears with comedy, my question to you is why? Why would he try to hide the fear and terror of war, when this is an anti-war novel? Do you believe that this is taken away from the effect by doing of the novel?
ReplyDeletethank you for your insightful questions peter. I would be glad to spend my time answering them.
ReplyDeleteSo why? Surely you have heard of veterans that refuse to talk about war. Even though SH11 is a war novel, maybe KV didnt want to expose the true horrors. Like what dajana said, I wouldnt want to read writing about all the grisly details of war. KV nonetheless still conveys his antiwar message through different ways though, and quite effectively.
I think incorporating unnecessary violence and gory details would detract from the brilliant narrative and intriguing story Kurt has provided.
Again, thank you for posting so many thought-provoking questions peter.
Do you believe that this is taken away from the effect of the novel?******
ReplyDeleteI think incorporating unnecessary violence and gory details would detract from the brilliant narrative and intriguing story Kurt has provided.
ReplyDelete