The Horror of War Exposed in Slaughterhouse Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

The Horror of War Exposed in Slaughterhouse fin             When one begins to analyze a military impertinent it is important to first look at the historical context in which the book was written. On the nights of February 13-14 in 1944 the city of Dresden, Ger many a nonher(prenominal) was subjected to one of the worst argumentation attacks in the history of man. By the end of the bombing 135,000 to 250,000 people had been killed by the combined forces of the United States and the United Kingdom. Dresden was different then Berlin or many of the other military targets which were attacked during World War II because it was never alter or used for strategic purposes and, therefore, was not considered a military target. Because of its presumable safety, thousands of refugees from all  over Europe converged on Dresden for protection (Klinkowitz 2-3). Dresdens neutrality was disoriented and the resulting attacks laid waste, what Vonne gut called, the Florence of the Elbe. Kurt Vonnegut was a witness to this event and because of fate, had been spared. He wrote Slaughterhouse Five to answer the questi on that resounded through his head long afterwards the bombs could no longer be heard. Why me?- a frequent question asked by survivors of war.           Vonnegut was tormented by this question and through Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist in Slaughterhouse Five, he attempts to reconcile the guilty conscience which one feels when one is willy-nilly saved from death, while ones friends and loved ones perish. Billy Pilgrims receive life was spared, but was never able to live with himself knowing that so many others had died. The feelings of guilt which emerged from his having survived the bombing of Dresden and from Billys fortunate escape from death under the shelter of the twenty percent Slaughterhouse haunted Billy through much of his life. Billy Pilgrim did not consider his survi val a blessing, but a scourge. A curse to be forced to live on with the guilt of survival. Billy Pilgrim face up such tremendous guilt, that he spent his entire life after Dresden trying to alleviate himself of it. His guilt is in many ways equal to the guilt felt by the survivors of the Holocaust. Many Holocaust survivors had to face their own Why me? question. However, many Holocaust survivors w ere