upper
4 literature intermeDiate
BRIDGE | April | 2011
And So
ItGoes
Life according
toKurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, considered one of the best
100American writers of the 20th century,
often used science fiction to describe
modern life. But his work cant really be
described as pure science fiction.
Vonnegut (19222007) uses familiar human characters and normal
settings, but then his characters may suddenly travel in time or meet
aliens2, which helps explain and move the action of his books forward.
For example, in one of Vonneguts most famous novels, Slaughterhouse3
Five, the main character Billy Pilgrim claims he was kidnaped by aliens
and taken to the planet Tralfamadore. The setting for Slaughterhouse Five
isnt the alien planet, but actually Billy Pilgrims last days as asoldier in
World War II. One moment hes trying to escape from the Germans on
foot, walking and walking across the ice and snow of aDecember Europe;
thenext moment hes on display4 in azoo on Tralfamadore.
It is there that Billy Pilgrim learns about the Tralfamadorians belief
that all life past, present, and future can be viewed at the same time,
the same way you can see several peaks of the Rocky Mountains at one
Vonnegut illustrated some of his books. His first illustrated book was
time. This belief helps Vonnegut explain the tragedy of death with the Slaughterhouse Five and he continued with his felt-tip pen illustrations in
simple phrase, And so it goes. In Slaughterhouse Five he repeats that Breakfast of Champions.
phrase every time he mentions anyone, or anything, that has died. It
becomes aslogan similar to Such is life. If you think of the persons
Other famous books
death as merely5 one of themany peaks in the mountain range, it brings
akind of peace to the event.
byKurt Vonnegut
Vonnegut himself was afoot soldier in World War II. He was
captured6 and imprisoned7 by the Germans (and kept in the
basement of an old slaughterhouse, number five), and survived
thefirebombing8 and destruction of the German city of Dresden.
Player Piano
Written in 1952, this science fiction novel portrays a world run
These events greatly influenced most of his novels and are the basis for by13 machines and asuper computer. Vonnegut said: This book
Slaughterhouse Five. is not about what is, but abook about what could be. And many
of his predictions14 about life in thefuture have come true.
A writer of many professions Cats Cradle
Vonnegut had avery mixed career to support himself and his family Published in 1963, this book explores themes of science,
while writing. He worked as anews reporter in Chicago while finishing technology, and religion. It is asatire on the arms race16 and
graduate school, as apublic relations writer for General Electric in other war issues. Aman researching the history of the atomic
New York, and was also avolunteer firefighter9 and owned acar bomb meets one of the scientists who invented it. Hes also
invented akind of ice that freezes water at room temperature
dealership10 there. For atime he also taught writing at the famous
and freezes everything it comes into contact with.
Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa.
Vonnegut the critic Breakfast ofChampions
Written in 1973, this book is aportrait of afictional town in
Vonnegut became more pessimistic about life as he grew older. He joined the American Mid-West (called Midland City) that is home to
awriters protest movement and refused to pay taxes during the Vietnam agroup of slightly neurotic characters. An unknown science
War, and was active in the humanism movement11. Humanists believe fiction writer, Kilgore Trout, comes there and meets arich
everyone is responsible for ethical behavior and trying to bring justice to businessman, Dwayne Hoover, who owns much of the city but
society, without relying on12 abelief in some kind of religion. is slowly going insane17.
Mary Matz (USA)
BRIDGE | April | 2011
5
Slaughterhouse Five
could not possibly escape him. In the next moment Billy
He placed himself hard against finds himself back in 1944 still
the left-hand door, searched feeling abit dizzy.
every square inch* of the area He was cold, hungry,
before him. When he failed to embarrassed, incompetent He
find the wheel, he moved over wished everybody would leave him
six inches, and searched again. alone. You guys go on without me,
Amazingly, he was eventually he said again and again.
hard against the righthand
door, without having found the The time-travels of Billy Pilgrim
wheel. He concluded somebody reveal his inner feelings and
had stolen it. This angered him give more information. It is as if
as he passed out. trying to put together the pieces
He was in the back seat of his of ajigsaw puzzle. By the end
car, which was why he couldnt of the book you think you can
find the steering wheel. finally see the whole picture.
Right from thebeginning of thebook
we are given thefacts about the main
character Billy Pilgrim. task Look at the following words taken from
theexcerpt and try to match them with
theright meaning.
We learn that he was taken Little Billy was terrified, because
prisoner by the Germans, his father had said Billy was
1 sensed A) pressed himself
returned home after the war, going to learn to swim by the
2 blinked B) not succeed in doing stg
became rich, married and method of sink-or-swim. His
3 windmilled C) realized
had two children, survived father was going to throw Billy
4 placed himself hard D) became unconscious
an airplane crash and said into the deep end*, and Billy was
5 failed (to) E) became aware of
he had been kidnapped by going to damn well swim. It was
6 concluded F) felt awkward, ashamed
aflying saucer from the planet like an execution. His eyes
7 passed out G) moved as if in wide curve, rotated
Tralfamadore. were closed. When he opened his
8 was embarrassed H) opened and shut eyes quickly
You dont expect to find out eyes, he was on the bottom of the
Solution on p. 3
about this right from the start poolHe lost consciousness
of astory. But that is not what He dimly sensed that somebody
the book is about. The focus was rescuing him. Billy blinked
is not really on who, when and, travelled in time to 1961. It
and why. Vonnegut explains was New Years Eve, and Billy was
and adds information about disgracefully drunk at aparty discuss In the excerpt first Billy goes back to his
childhood, in the next moment he
characters by travelling in time and Billy found himself out in
to express his thoughts in an his automobile, trying to find the jumps into a comic description of how he was trying to find
experimental way. steering wheel. Billy windmilled the steering wheel. How do his time travels tie in with the
Billy first came unstuck in his arms, hoping to find it by moment when hes telling his fellow wanderers (soldiers) to
time, he moved in time, during luck. When that didnt work, leave him behind, when he feel dizzy, cold, and embarrassed,
(Was the memory from his childhood a pleasant one?
the war behind the German he became methodical, working
lines in 1944. in such away that the wheel
12 to rely on [rI"laI] spolehnout se 24 lost consciousness ["kQnS@snIs]
Vocabulary 13 run by ovldan, zen ztratil vdom
glossary*
1 pure [pjU@] st, ryz 14 prediction [prI"dIkS(@)n] pedpovd 25 dimly [dImlI] matn deep end the deep part of
2 alien ["eIlI@n] mimozeman 15 cradle ["kreId(@)l] kolbka 26 disgracefully [dIs"greIsfUlI, aswimming pool (=hloubka)
3 slaughterhouse ["slO;t@haUs] jatka 16 arms race zvod vezbrojen -f(@)lI] hanebn inch unit of length
4 on display [dI"spleI] vystaven 17 insane [In"seIn] len 27 steering wheel ["stI@rIN wi;l] (1 inch =2.54 cm), hear inch means
5 merely ["mI@li] jenom, pouze volant small amount or part of something
6 to capture ["k&ptS@] zajmout SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE 28 left-hand door lev dvee (=kousek, p)
7 to imprison [Im"prIz(@)n] uvznit 18 flying saucer ["sO;s@] ltajc tal 29 washard against narazil na
8 to survive firebombing pet 19 square [skwE;] tveren 30 dizzy ["dIzi] mt zvra
20 focus ["f@Uk@s] zamen, 31 to reveal [rI"vi;l] ukzat
Language point
bombardovn
9 firefighter ["faI@faIt@] hasi pozornost, hlavn cl 32 inner feelings [In@ "fi;lINz] Pilgrim (Billys surname) refers
10 dealership ["di;l@SIp] obchodn 21 to sink [sINk] potopit se, jt ke dnu vnitn pocity to his ability to travel in time.
zastoupen 22 was going to damn well se ml 33 jigsaw puzzle ["dZIgsO; "pVz(@)l] (pilgrim=poutnk)
11 humanism movement zatracen snait skldaka puzzle
["hju;m@nIz(@)m] humanistick hnut 23 execution [EksI"kju;S(@)n] poprava
