Final response to Slaughterhouse Five

As we conclude our discussion for Slaughterhouse-Five, I would like to say that out of the three books we’ve read this quarter, Slaughterhouse-Five was my favorite (although Ragtime does come in as a close second). Its fast-pace, black humor, and eccentric story all keep me engaged as a reader.

One of the things I ask myself is whether Slaughterhouse-Five is a novel against war or a novel against war novels. I feel like the novel has aspects of both. Slaughterhouse-Five is certainly no anti-war novel, and Vonnegut even denies that this novel is anti-war claiming that it was just as effective in stopping glaciers. Wars were going to happen and it was simply inevitable whether we like it or not. At the same time, this is not our conventional anti-war novel. We’re taken into space, where we learn about the Tralfamadorians and their alien race. Does Vonnegut use the Tralfamadorians as a way to cope with his own trauma? Or does he use these characters to poke fun at conventional anti-war novels and try to deglamorize the war concept behind them?

When looking back at Billy Pilgrim’s memories during and after the war, one thing can definitely be said of him: they are very human. Yes, he seems very childish, and makes himself look stupid most of the time, but is that not how most of us would act if we were in that situation? He isn’t some John Wayne that is fighting heartily and cheerfully, killing Germans left and right. Billy PIlgrim is just a human, and like most adults that go to war, he is a child and doesn’t realize the realities of war. Vonnegut is saying more than that war is bad. He is exposing the truth for what it is, and tries to shatter the myths about war that we’ve just become so accustomed to. In a way, he treats us like we’re kids ourselves.

Tralfamadore

One of the more unique aspects I found about Slaughterhouse-Five was Billy Pilgrim’s flashbacks on Tralfamadore. Not only is he put on display like an animal at a zoo, he also has a relationship with Montana Wildhack, ultimately having a child with her on the planet. I was really interested in hearing what other people had to say about this, so I looked up an article called “The Psychiatrists were Right: Anomic Alienation in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five”. It was by Kevin Brown, and Brown thinks that Billy Pilgrim is very anomic, having no real social connections with the other characters in the novel. It’s only in Tralfamadore where Billy can escape this loneliness and become the center of attention. He can escape the realities of Earth and war and enter a new place where is loved and is part of a community. Brown also argues that Montana Wildhack pays Billy a similar sort of attention, making Billy in charge of everything that is going on “since Billy knows exactly  what to do on Tralfamadore”. This ultimately leads Billy and Montana’s sexual union and child.

Brown believes that this imaginary world of Tralfamadore makes Billy all the more egoistic because now that he has created this fictional world where all his needs are met, he ceases to try to connect with anyone any further. Billy isn’t the only one who experiences anomie. Many characters like Edgar Derby, Roland Weary, and even the Vonnegut in the novel himself experiences anomie (Vonnegut at the start of the novel tries to reconnect with people of the past by telephone). Vonnegut, Brown argues, wants readers to recognize how anomic alienation has manifested in today’s society after WWII and wants readers to examine their own lives. He hopes that Tralfamadore gives a good picture of a world where people can truly connect with each other.

This was definitely a fresh way to see Tralfamadore, and the idea of alienation today can very well be seen in today’s world. Many of us are much more individualistic, not having that sense of community values that was once cherished. We focus more on our own survival and trying to get through the next day. Of course there are charity and grassroots groups that help out communities, but many of us have just lost touch with the community. Vonnegut reminds us, through Billy, what it means to be alone and wants us to try to make true connections with people.

Today's Jes Grew: Hip-hop

In my response paper for Mumbo Jumbo, I talked about the state of Jes Grew in today’s world and how our society has changed dramatically from Reed’s in how we appreciate African American music like hip-hop. Even though there are some hip-hop groups like Odd Future who have been criticized for their inappropriate and offensive lyrics, there is very little of the oppression of African American music that Reed describes in Mumbo Jumbo.

I would like to embellish my discussion on Jes Grew further by first touching upon hip-hop in its early years. When talking to Mr. Mitchell about Jes Grew in today’s society, I brought up hip-hop groups like N.W.A, a music group that redefined what hip-hop is today. Like Odd Future, N.W.A was just as controversial during its time, rapping about cop-killing and the dangers and violence in the Compton ghetto. Unlike Odd Future though, while the group members in the N.W.A have their own personal experiences in the ghetto to back up their lyrics, Odd Future’s group members are just teenagers with no self-control in what they say.

Contrasting N.W.A and Odd Future, we can see how hip-hop has changed. With hip-hop artists like MC Hammer, Kanye West, and Jay-Z, not only has hip-hop become much more commercialized, lyrics have also changed significantly. Rappers talk less about the dangers of the ghetto and more about the ups and downs of celebrity life and the unprecendented wealth they have accumulated (as seen in albums like Watch the Throne). Even though  the content of lyrics has changed, the use of the English language has not changed at all. As described by Reed, “slang is also Jes Grew”. Rap is, and will always be, about playing with words to create clever rhymes in order to convey a certain message.

Rap lyrics are not the only thing that has changed within hip-hop. Another significant factor that has changed the game of hip-hop is the Internet. I mentioned briefly in my response paper about how Odd Future rose to popularity thanks to Itunes and Youtube. With so many social media sites about, similar to the idea of Jes Grew just popping out of nowhere, even the most anonymous rapper can spread his name and music out through Facebook and Youtube to the point where he/she has a huge fan following. It gives anyone the chance and freedom to create their own music and share it with the world. That is what Jes Grew is all about: exciting amounts of energy and freedom. Jes Grew is about being brash and wild because artists have the very freedom to do so. No matter how the system tries to oppress, Jes Grew simply cannot be stopped.

What are Reed's intentions in "Mumbo Jumbo"?

Mumbo Jumbo was definitely one of the hardest books I’ve read. The difficulty of grasping the ideas Reed touches upon, the chronology of the story, and the ridiculousness of some of the stories (such as Moses’ concert) are to name a few reasons. As crazy as the book was, maybe Reed really intended for Mumbo Jumbo to be such a jumbled mess, as a way to show how new cultural movements like jazz can really change the status quo of society.

I remember one person in class mentioning how Mumbo Jumbo was very much like a comic book story. The Wallflower Order is like the evil, secret society that is trying to kill Jes Grew, which the good guys, Papa Labas and his men, are trying to save. This is actually a funny way to portray on such serious topics as race, cultural movements, and Western civilization. Reed seems to be intentionally satirical in this sort of manner throughout the entire novel. Take the scene where Moses plays the music he learns from Jethro that causes the audience’s ears to bleed. The way Reed describes this scene made me immediately think of Woodstock and the hippie audience, a very odd comparison.

Look at the book from a more general view. The plans that the Wallflower Order tries to accomplish are simply outrageous. A Talking Android that disguises himself in order to destroy Jes Grew and black culture from the inside out? An economic panic that the Wallflower Order will control in order to shut down all black music clubs and Jes Grew as a whole? Again, these plots are just as ridiculous as any other evil villain’s plans in a comic book. Even the evil characters like Hinckle von Vampton and Harold “Safecracker” Gould are just ridiculous in how they speak, how they view Jes Grew, and how they act as people.

So what does a book as crazy and ridiculous as Mumbo Jumbo have to say about what’s going on in Western culture? Reed uses this insane plot to show how a movement like jazz and African American music as a whole can really impact society. Like any other new idea or new cultural movement that comes about, there are always going to be critics. There are going to be those people who have very conservative ideals and find such changes way too radical. Reed tries to poke fun at these sorts of people and show how truly ridiculous they are. After all, change is inevitable, and whether we like it or not, we are going to have to eventually accept it for what it is.