Themes of Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt vonnegut and Catch 22...

Themes of Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt vonnegut and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller In the books, Slaughter House 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller there are many themes that at first don’t appear to be related but once given a closer look have striking similarities. Both books are about one mans experience through World War II, one being a fighter pilot and another being a soldier. Each man is known as an anti-war hero. They do not agree with the war and do not find it appropriate to fight for it. Neither of the two men was the average â€Å"John Wayne† war hero that fights and dies for his country. This is what makes these two books stand out from other war books. Both of these books also were used during the Vietnam War as†¦show more content†¦Billy is a mild-mannered man who would much rather cruise through life turning the other cheek than having a confrontation. He is a tall lanky, goofy character that when captured behind enemy lines didn’t have a helmet, boots or a weapon. He looked so ridiculous that a German photographer took a picture of him to show the Germans how ill prepared the Americans were for war. When Billy enters the POW camp he is portrayed even more as a fool when instead of being given a normal overcoat like the rest of the prisoners he is given a woman’s fur coat. These are not at all what I would consider a war hero and that is exactly what the authors were trying to do. They were trying to question many things about war. One was to question our assumptions not only to the right to wage war but also the people who fight in the war and the leaders that run the war. The authors writing about the characters in this way also paints us a picture that is not often painted. This picture shows that all soldiers aren’t the rugged, handsome, brave and strong men that we all believe but that many soldiers are people like you and me. Most of them kids, that would just be starting college if it weren’t for war. Many of them scared, helpless, and confused as to why they are fighting and killing. These authors question war and its many aspe cts instead of advertise it. A theme that is a little more hidden in each of these books is what war does to people. In Catch 22Show MoreRelatedA Research Assignment : All Quiet On The Western Front And The Sun Also Rises2803 Words   |  12 PagesAnoki Jacksch 12Eng61 16.05.14: Introduction The authors, E.M. Remarque, Eric Lomax, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller and Ernest Hemingway, who became famous, wrote excellent novels, because they were in love, have an underlying issue or have experienced issues that they want to share with the world. I choose to investigate the following novels: All Quiet on the Western Front, The Railway Man, Slaughterhouse-5, Catch-22 and The Sun Also Rises, because they all thematically connect to the â€Å"horrors of war†Read MorePostmodernism in Literature5514 Words   |  23 Pagesnot previously deemed fit for literature. A list of postmodern authors often varies; the following are some names of authors often so classified, most of them belonging to the generation born in the interwar period: William Burroughs (1914-1997) Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), John Barth (b. 1930), Donald Barthelme (1931-1989), E. L. Doctorow (b. 1931), Robert Coover (1932), Jerzy Kosinski (1933-1991) Don DeLillo (b. 1936), Thomas Pynchon (b. 1937), Ishmael Reed (1938), Kathy Acker (1947-1997), Paul Auster