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Bellwork: Food for Thought

Bellwork: Food for Thought. “ Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘G– d*&% it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

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Bellwork: Food for Thought

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  1. Bellwork: Food for Thought • “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘G– d*&% it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ” --Kurt Vonnegut • Knowing what you know about Vonnegut now, what do you think was his purpose in writing this quote?

  2. Slaughterhouse Fiveby Kurt Vonnegut Historical Background

  3. About the Novel • Published at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Fiveis considered by many critics to be Vonnegut’s greatest work.

  4. About the Novel • Students who are unfamiliar with Vonnegut’s work may find the format of the novel a bit disconcerting. • Vonnegut combines science fiction, autobiography, historical fiction, and modern satire in a “jumbled” depiction of the life of Billy Pilgrim

  5. About the Novel • In 1969, the United States was reeling from the growing violence of the anti-war and civil rights movements. • The country had witnessed the assassination of two leaders who were considered icons of peace and hope for a better society, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

  6. About the Novel • It is not surprising that in this atmosphere, Vonnegut’s novel gained an almost cult-like following among the generation that rejected what it saw as the materialism and shallowness of American society. • Where did we see materialism and shallowness in SH5?

  7. Historical Background: Dresden • By February of 1945, Dresden was one of the few major German cities that had not been bombed in the Allied campaign to break German morale by targeting entire cities and towns. It had become a major refuge for civilians fleeing the advance of the Soviet Army across Eastern Europe.

  8. Historical Background: Dresden • It was also the home of American POWs who, like Vonnegut, had been captured during the Battle of the Bulge. • Although there were no obvious military targets in Dresden, allied commanders later suggested that the city was an important communications link between the German armies in eastern and western Europe.

  9. Historical Background • Some historians suggest that the fire-bombing of Dresden was ordered as revenge for the V-2 rocket attacks on London late in the war • Where do we see revenge being discussed/portrayed in SH5?

  10. Historical Background: Bombing of Dresden • The raid was carried out over three days, with the Royal Air Force leading the first wave with incendiary bombs that created a firestorm in the city. • Over 650,000 incendiary bombs were dropped, accounting for three quarters of the explosives used. This created a huge firestorm which would burn for over a week, creating temperatures over a thousand degrees (Ambrose 404). • Over the next two days, the American Air Force followed up with strafing raids on the survivors.

  11. Historical Background: Bombing of Dresden • No accurate casualty reports exist because of the firestorm, but estimates range from a low of thirty-five thousand deaths (the figure offered by the Allies) to over one hundred thousand (the figure offered by the Germans) with realistic estimates of over 135,000 casualties, more than Hiroshima.

  12. Witnesses to the incident described people's clothing exploding into fire from the heat alone, naked bodies whose clothing was incinerated while they were wearing it, piles of dead who suffocated from lack of ventilation while trying to take shelter from the fire (Whiting 181).

  13. Historical Background: Bombing of Dresden • Regardless of the actual number of casualties, the firebombing of Dresden obviously ranks with the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as atrocities of World War II. • Link this to Rumfoord’s account of the bombing of Dresden. • When discussing Dresden with Billy (Vonnegut 191), Rumfoord essentially admits that it was unnecessary for the military to bomb the city the way they did.

  14. Wait a second… • Before you read Slaughterhouse-Five, have you ever heard of the incident in Dresden? • What does this suggest about our history books?

  15. The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien

  16. Tim O’Brien • Video Clip from PBS

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