Slaughterhouse Five- Chapter 5

Chapter five of "Slaughterhouse Five" deals with many of the same themes as the rest of the book. One, the question of free will vs a predetermined universe. At one point a prisoner asks a guard "Why me?" and the guard replies "Vy you? Vy anybody?". At another point when Billy is dreaming while on morphine, he questions things happening in his dream and he asks "why?". These moments  encompass this concept of not being able to necessarily choose what happens in one's life. The Tralfamadorians accept this concept most completely. They understand that the world they live in is a predetermined world, "He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way". Even when the universe is in peril, they still believe they cannot change something even though it hasn't happened yet. Another reoccurring aspect in this chapter is that of time travel. The concept of his time travels is explained through the Tralfamadorians literature, "what we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time". This is something Billy is able to accomplish through his travels. He is not defined by one particular moment in his life because he will quickly shift to another time. Billy characterizes the books as having lots of "ups and downs" which is strikingly similar to his life. He speaks of visiting the Grand Canyon compared to the Carlsbad Canyons and how his father put him in the deep end of the pool as a child compared to taking him to the Grand Canyon. This connects Billy's life to the books he is reading which allows us to better understand how it describes his entire life.

A Sonnet is More Than Just Shakespeare

Sonnets are the most versatile type of poetry. Sonnets are square. They are fourteen lines long and usually written in iambic pentameter. Most lines have ten syllables and that is about as long as fourteen lines are high, leading to its square appearance. Most sonnets have two different units of meaning that are closely related with a shift taking place. The separate units correspond with the parts into which the form breaks. Most sonnets have two parts: one of eight lines and one of six. Petrarchan sonnets use rhyme to tie the first eight lines together then another rhyme scheme to tie the last six together. A Shakespearian sonnet usually divides up by fours. Here, the first two groups of four have a unity in meaning, as do the third four and the last two lines. Not all sonnets follow such form. Those without rhyme are called “blank”.

Shakespeare wrote many sonnets and he also incorporated them into his longer writings. For example, the prologue of “Romeo and Juliet” is a sonnet. It is divided like most Shakespearian sonnets. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This also divides the meaning of the sonnet. The first quatrain gives basic introductory information including the setting and some foreshadowing about what is to come. The second gives more details about what is to come with the “star-cross'd lovers” and builds on the first quatrain.  The third quatrain introduces the conflicts and shifts in the story. The couplet at the end acts as a conclusion for the sonnet and a nice transition into the plot.

I actually really like sonnets and I am not the type of person who typically reads or writes poetry. Poetry can easily become overwhelming or just boring. The sonnet contains the poem into a very manageable length. It is a nice medium between haiku’s, containing only three lines, and classic poetry which can be as long as the author desires. At fourteen lines, it is a good length to convey a simple thought, feeling, emotion, or story. My favorite sonnet is one by Robert Frost simply titled “Acquainted With the Night”.  Frost does a really well job of making the situation feel realistic. Almost everybody can relate to his observations of the city night. 

“I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
 I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
 I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
 But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
 Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.”

So, while Shakespeare may be most commonly known for his sonnets, and rightly so as he wrote hundreds, he is not the only author who created great sonnets. 

Rain or Shine, Snow or Sleet

In this chapter, Foster explores the clichés associated with weather.

First, why is it a dark and stormy night? The author has full control over the weather in his book. So while in real life we can simply blame Mother Nature for unfortunate weather circumstances, the author cannot. There must be a reason it's dark and stormy rather than sunny.

Foster delves into rain and our associations with it. Rain is prevalent in mythology and religion. Foster cites the obvious example of Noah's Arc. This event was very destructive but ultimately signifies a new start. While rain can obviously be gloomy and eerie, it can also be purifying and renewing. Foster next discusses the cleansing side of rain. While, yes rain is obviously physically cleansing, it can also be so metaphorically. For example, if a character walks through the rain he may arrive cleansed and emotionally transformed. Of course this can go the other way if the character falls and gets physically dirtier on the journey.

Rain is also restorative with its association to spring. It can lead the world into a new life or growth. For example in The Lion King, rain is used in the sense of a rebirth. After Simba defeats Scar, rain is used to put out the fire and to signify the rebirth of the kingdom as Simba becomes the king. After he is named king, the sun comes out, everything looks green and fresh, and everyone looks happy. So as we've explored the many things rain can do, ultimately it can both destroy and recreate the world.
Another element of rain is the rainbow that follows. The rainbow traditionally symbolizes "divine promise, peace between heaven and earth". Today, we generally get caught up in the pot of gold or the leprechaun at the end but, nonetheless it ultimately symbolizes happiness and goes along with the rebirth aspect of rain.

Another aspect of weather is that of fog. Fog is almost always thought of as dark and mysterious. Foster associated it with confusion in the sense that "people can't see clearly, that matters under consideration are murky." Physically, fog can be very dangerous to drivers or pilots trying to navigate through the thick cloud. This same sense of danger and confusion is present when mentally ones judgement is "clouded" or when ones mind is "in a fog". This represents ones lack of clarity usually when making a decision. Both physically and mentally fog is hazardous and hinders our ability to see clearly.

The last weather element discussed is snow. Snow is as paradoxical as rain. Foster fully captures this when explaining snow, "snow is clean, stark, severe, warm (as an insulating blanket, paradoxically), inhospitable, inviting, playful, suffocating, filthy (after time has elapsed).

Overall, weather in literature is truly not just part of the setting. It often tells us much more about the characters and their emotions.

Are you on a quest?

Are you on a quest?

The author describes, in this chapter about “quests”, how even a mere outing of a character can mean much more. He creates a fake situation to illustrate this more clearly. The simplicity of the situation is almost comical: How could a boy running an errand to the grocery store be on a quest? Well, in literature, a quest simply involves five key elements: 1.) A “quester” – the person making the quest, 2.) A place to go, 3.) A stated reason to go there, 4.) Challenges along the trip and 5.) A real reason to go. However the reason for the quest is generally not the stated reason for going. The real reason is one of self-knowledge. This “quest” is present in many coming-of-age stories. For example, the novel Great Expectations has all of the required elements of a quest: 1.) The quester in this story is Pip, a young orphan boy, 2.) The place to go in this instance is not a physical place, but a state of being, Pip is on a journey to become a high-class gentleman, 3.) The stated reason is so he will be good enough for Estella. Also, after his experiences with the upper class at Miss Havisham’s house, he believes he will not be happy until he is a gentleman, 4.)  Pip experiences many challenges on his quest. First and foremost, he faces internal conflicts. These conflicts revolve around him losing sight of what matters most. To pursue Estella, he loses the people who actually care about him. He later realizes that he has wasted enjoying his real life in order to pursue a girl he hardly knew. His internal conflict is a major part of the book. Pip also faces many external conflicts on his journey. They begin with his sisters mistreatment. He grows to resent his sister, however, this does bring him and Joe closer together. He faces challenges with other characters as well, including Magwitch, Biddie, Drummle, Orlick, and Compeyson. These details of these conflicts are not necessarily relevant to his quest. However, these do contribute to his difficulty to reach his ultimate goal, 5.) The real reason is not truly seen until the end. Even when Pip becomes a gentleman, Estella does not love him. He learns during this time of self-improvement that affection and loyalty are much more important than wealth and social status.

This concept of quests is very interesting to me. I had never really considered such simple things as aspects of a quest. I always felt like a quest had a connotation of a large outing in pursuit of something tangible. I had never thought of it this way before. However, when reading this chapter, I immediately connected this quest archetype to the famous book "Great Expectations". While his quest is not to save a princess in a castle, it is arguably still very much a quest. It is just not for something tangible but for a state of being. This has changed the way I comprehend literature. Now when learning about a character going through something, I wonder if possibly he or she is on a quest. I have found this quest occurring in "The Catcher in the Rye" and even "The Wizard of Oz". While being aware if this archetype, I have realized the quest is present so much in media, as well as literature.