Slaughterhousefive is not only vonneguts most powerful book, it is also as important as any written since 1945. Vonneguts masterwork packs more ideastime travel, gender politics, a potent antiwar allegory, er, aliens putting people on display in zoosthan most novels twice its length. Billy pilgrim continues throughout the novel to use the term so it goes as it. It is generally recognized as vonneguts most influential and popular work. Slaughterhouse five is a complex novel that explores the life of billy pilgrim and his multiple brushes with death. I love to know the word counts of books and essays. Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade see other formats. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. A novel modern library 100 best novels paperback january 12, 1999. It also has one of the alltime great opening lines in literature as it begins what is surely one of the strangest meditations on. Billy is able to move both forwards and backwards through his lifetime in an arbitrary cycle. There are, however, a number of ways in which the text could be introduced to a class.
Slaughterhousefive is a very pessimistic book, and also a satire. And lots wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. Slaughterhouse 5 is about a time travelling american soldier during world war ii who is in the german city of dresden when it is bombed by the allies. I am writing a paper comparing beloved and slaughterhouse five. Slaughterhousefive was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a bestseller and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as catch22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade. Thats longer than wikipedias estimation of the typical novel length, but just about right as a. Slaughterhouse five kurt vonnegut 50,000 nanowrimo winners 54,243 the hours cunningham, michael. Slaughterhouse five kurt vonnegut words quotes, sayings, favorite book quotes, kurt. Kurt vonnegut, conversations with kurt vonnegut tags.
Trouts fictional novel within slaughterhousefive explores the journey of a. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhouse five are between 4050,000 words. Like catch 22, it fashions the authors experiences in the second world war into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Kurt vonnegut introduces his seventh novel, slaughterhousefive delacorte, apologetically, calling it a failure. Reading length provides a calculation for the word count of this book, find out how long it will take you to read. Slaughterhousefive is an extremely entertaining read, and an important book for teen readers to explore more deeply in a classroom setting.
Ive heard through the publishing world grapevine than most agents and editors will generally take a query for a first novel more seriously if the word. The f word is plastered on almost every other page. Slaughterhousefive was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a best seller, and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as catch22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade. Slaughterhousefive does not express its concerns about war straightforwardly, rather, it shows it in such a humorous mood that it does not even seem impressive anymore. Introduction to the novel eight possible ways to get started because slaughterhousefive does not have a chronological structure, it could prove to be rather confusing to pupils. Slaughterhousefive simple english wikipedia, the free. Slaughterhousefive project gutenberg selfpublishing. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words.
Billy is the main character of slaughterhousefive, but hes not exactly the hero of the book. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. A novel modern library 100 best novels 9780812988529. The authors perception of war, inspired by mary ohare, goes deeper than other war novelists. One guy i knew really was shot for taking a teapot that wasnt his. Slaughterhousefive quiz that tests what you know about important details and events in the book. Like the painter, most writers arent too focused on book length or statistics. Unlike novels based on traditional forms, vonneguts novel does not fit a model that stresses plot, character conflict, and climax. I recently finished reading kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five and i quite enjoyed it but i dont get why it is so highly praised as being one of the greatest books ever written. It has been popular all over the world since its was published in 1969.
Billy lives a life full of indignity and so, perhaps, has no great fear of death. A novel modern library 100 best novels has 288 pages. Fittingly, slaughterhousefive is an odd sort of bookboth an antiwar novel. A dutydance with death 1969 is a satirical novel by kurt vonnegut about world war ii experiences and journeys through time of a chaplains assistant named billy pilgrim. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books 50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. It is often assigned by college and high school reading and writing classes, especially when our president wants us to go out and kill somebody. When main character billy pilgrim winds up in dresden, germany, as a prisoner of war pow in world war ii, he and 100 other american pows are kept in an abandoned slaughterhouse called slaughterhousefive.
I do plan to reread the book in the future to hopefully understand it better, but i did not get it the first time. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Tiare moreno blink182 aliens exist my best friend thinks im just telling lies this ties to the book because when billy pilgrim tells his daughter of his time traveling and alien abduction experiences she. At the end of slaughterhousefivei had a shuttingoff feelingthat i had done what i was supposed to do and everything was ok. The tralfamadorians are described as being able to see in four dimensions. The absurdist, nonlinear work blends science fiction with historical facts, notably vonneguts own experience as a prisoner of war in dresden, germany, during the allied firebombing of that city in early 1945. Slaughterhousefive is an account of billy pilgrims capture and incarceration by the germans during the last years of world war ii, and scattered throughout the narrative are episodes from billys life both before and after the war, and from his travels to the planet tralfamadore trawlfahmuhdoor. Word count is one of those things new writers worry about but deny worrying about because were not supposed to be worrying about it. It follows the life and experiences of billy pilgrim, from his early years to his time as an american soldier and chaplains assistant during world war ii, to the postwar years, with billy occasionally traveling through time itself. Like catch22, it fashions the authors experiences in the second world war into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. It is often picked as one of the best books of all time. Like so many americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops. A special fiftieth anniversary edition of kurt vonneguts masterpiece, a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century time, featuring a new introduction by kevin powers, author of the national book award finalist the yellow birdsselected by the modern library as one of the 100 best novels of all time.
That said, this figure differs from book to book and. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. This study guide consists of approximately 66 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of slaughterhousefive. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books. Slaughterhousefive taken from the name of the building where the pows were held is not only vonneguts most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Slaughterhousefive is part autobiographical, part sciencefiction, part sarcastic master work by kurt vonnegut. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. One night, allied forces carpet bomb the city, then drop incendiary bombs to create a firestorm that sucks most of the oxygen into the blaze. Word counts and other distractions griffin paul jackson.
Full text of slaughterhouse five or the childrens crusade. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. A dutydance with death, antiwar novel by kurt vonnegut, published in 1969. Slaughterhousefive was an immediate critical and commercial sensation in 1969, and it has stood the test of time. The all american rejects dirty little secret slaughterhouse five by. Hes a brilliant writer, even if i know i will probably like another book of his better than slaughterhouse five. According to wikipedias entry on word count, the typical word count of a novel is at least 80,000 words.
How nice to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive. I loved the book, dont get me wrong, but i might be missing a deeper meaning. The novel explores the concepts of time and death, as well as the existence of. This fact may point to an interpretation of the tralfamadorians as a figment of billys disturbed mind, an elaborate coping mechanism to explain the meaningless slaughter billy. Bbc radio 3 broadcast a featurelength radio drama based on the book. Each essay is 2,5005,000 words in length and all essays conclude with a list of. The narrator issorry to spoil it for youpretty much kurt vonnegut. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Word count for famous novels organized a commonplace book. Coming from most writers, an apology like that would be inadequate. Why word count matters when you submit your book the artful. He is oddly suited, therefore, to the tralfamadorian philosophy of accepting death. Slaughterhousefive came out in 1969 near the height of the war in vietnam. Though you know this book as slaughterhousefive, the full title is actually slaughterhousefive, or the childrens crusade. Billy pilgrims father, whose full name is not given, is a barber in ilium, new york. In a taxi on the way to the dresden slaughterhouse that served as their prison, vonnegut and ohare strike up a conversation with the cab driver about life under communism. A novel about mans folly, slaughterhouse five traces the wanderings through time and space of billy pilgrim, a survivor of the fire bombing of dresden.
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