SLAUGHTER HOUSE FIVE

By Kawika Wise

Hudson

The people in the book are just like us in times of peace, they enjoy the same things we do. The horrible acts of war messed-up their mind and create a different person. In this sort paragraph, Yon Yonson takes his two daughters, their nanny and friend to Cape Cod to see the natural beauty of the Hudson River.

“They had never seen water in that long and narrow, unsalted form before. The river was the Hudson. There were carp in there and we saw them. They were as big as atomic submarines, we saw waterfalls, too, streams jumping off cliffs into the valley of the Delaware.”

Page 12,13

Massacre

The picture below shows one of the worst parts of war. This paragraph is describing what it sounds like after a massacre, “poo-tee-weet”, and what it looks like.

“It is short and jumbled and jangled, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say any thing or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quit after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds.

And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like poo-tee-weet.”

Page 19

Tralfamadore This is a description of a

“Tralfamadore”, the aliens in the book that can see in the 4th dimension. In my opinion, Billy is the author and this shows everyone what the negative impacts of war can do to your mind.

“The letter said that they were two feet high and green, and shaped like plumber’s friends. Their suction cups were on the ground, and their shaft, which were extremely flexible, usually pointed to the sky. At the top of each shaft was a little hand with a green eye in its palm.”

Page 26

Ditch

This quote depicts a position I would never want to be in. The thought of being trapped, hiding in a ditch, with people hunting me makes me understand why they go crazy, its survival.

“Now lying in the ditch with Billy and the scouts after having been shot at.”

Page 37

Knife

The knife he describes is very cool but I think it was more practical than it was for show – because in war it is survival of the fittest. The knife also had sentimental value because was a gift from his father and reminded him of home.

“Billy take a very close look at his trench knife. It wasn’t government issue. It was a present from his father. It had a ten inch blade that was triangular is cross section. Its grip consisted of brass knuckles, was a chain of rings trough which Weary slipped his stubby fingers. The rings weren’t simple. They bristled with spikes."

Page 37

Mona Lisa’s

I chose this peace of imagery because it gave me a very interesting picture in my mind. A full grown man in war, with that smirk, would just creep me out.

“Billy smile as he came out of the shrubbery was at least as peculiar as Mona Lisa’s,”

Page 58

Machine-gun

This is just a sad image of what happens in war. Know one is safe, in fact nothing is safe, even a simple barn shows the devastation of war.

“Bobbing up-and-down, up-and-down. Billy beamed lovingly at a bright lavender farmhouse that had been spattered with machine-gun bullets.” Page 65

Flying Saucer

This is a description of a flying saucer. This obviously shows that he believes in aliens. I think this is one of the many things that prove he is crazy.

“The saucer was one hundred feet in diameter, with portholes around its rim. The light from the portholes was a pulsing purple. The only noise it made was the owl song.”

Page 75-76

Extermination camp

How scary it must have been to stay in a place that was designed to kill people.

"The train had arrived on a sliding by a prison which was originally constructed as an extermination camp for Russian prisoners.”

Page 80

Overcoats

This is a sad image but it gives you a picture of their reality. It describes how people felt about death, it happens and get over it. For example they take dead peoples jackets so other prisoners can us them.

“At the base of the pole from which the light bulb hung were three seeing haystacks. The Americans were wheedled and teased over to those three stacks, which weren't hay after all. They were overcoats taken from prisoners who were dead.”

Page 81

Billy’s Overcoat

This is discussing! Billy has a dead mans frozen jacket with food stains all over it. This shows how badly the prisoners were treated.

“The coat that Billy got had been crumpled and frozen in such a way, and was so small, that it appeared to be not a coat but a sort of large black, three cornered hat. There were gummy stains on it, too, like crankcase draining or old strawberry jam. There seemed to be a dead, furry animal frozen to it. The animal was in fact the coats fur collar.”

Page 82

Crash

How ironic, Billy survived a plane crash, Valencia flipped out, crashed her car and ended up dead in the hospital parking lot.

“The driver of the Mercedes got out and went to Valencia, to find out if she was all right. She blabbed hysterically about Billy and the airplane crash, and then she put her car in gear and crossed the medial divider, leaving her exhaust system behind.”

Page 183

Valencia

The imagery here reaffirms the irony of Billy’s luck.

“When she arrived at the hospital, people rushed to the windows to see what all the noise was. The Cadillac, with both mufflers gone, sound like a heavy bomber coming in on wing and prayer….. Poor Valencia was unconscious, overcome by carbon monoxide…One hour later she was dead. So it goes.”

Page 183

HiroshimaAnother example of the horror of

World War II and the devastation it left behind that would impact generations.

“Six hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20000 tons of T.N.T.”

Page 185

Corpse

The horror of war! The premature disrespectful death, know wonder people go crazy.

“There were hundreds of corpse mines operating by and by. They didn’t smell bad at first, were wax museums. But then the bodies totted and liquefied, and the stink was like roses and mustard gas. So it goes.”

Page 214

The EndThe End