Slaughterhouse VI Fandom

 "Poo-Tee-Weet"

(1)

A Brief Historical Introduction...

        Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is a fictional novel lightly based on non fiction events. Vonnegut's story takes place during the 1945 firebombing of Dresden, Germany, an event in which Vonnegut himself lived through as an American prisoner of war. During World War II, the beautiful city of Dresden was completely obliterated by United States as well as British military forces in a 2 day attack towards the end of the second world war. This extremely strategic attack utilized bombs, additional fires started, and westerly winds to ensure the city was completely engulfed in flame. The aftermath was horrific as the entire city was diminished to nothing but rubble. Nearly the whole civilian population of Dresden were tragically killed: the approximate death toll ranging anywhere from 20,000 to 250,000. Based on poor records, immediate injuries, and complications after the fact, the number is highly debated (2).

A Bit About Vonnegut

        Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was an American author born November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Being a child of the Great Depression led to an unhappy home life. During his years as a teenager, life hadn't let up on its malicious reigns just yet. Kurt was only 16 when World War 2 started and was 20 when he enlisted to serve. Shortly after, he was deployed to Europe. Unfortunately, he was captured by the German military where they held him 60 feet underground with other prisoners of war in an old slaughterhouse/meat locker. It was because of his deep underground location that he and his fellow prisoners survived the tragic firebombing of Dresden (3). This  and most certainly traumatizing event led to his most famous work: Slaughterhouse-5.  Billy Pilgram's tale, though clearly fictionalized, was loosely based on the experiences Vonnegut lived through himself.

Why I Fell in Love With Slaughterhouse-5

        It was during my senior year of high school that I found Vonnegut's novel. Of course, high school can be a challenging time for the individual. Emotions are often misplaced and early traumas can lead to altered perceptions. When I read this book, I was struggling greatly with my self-concept and viewed the world in a rather cynical way. The stoic nature of Billy Pilgram's character and his attitude towards tragedy was comforting to me. I realized that while bad things can happen every single day, life still continues on. Or, in the words of Billy, "so it goes." Good things will continue on in the presence of disaster. It is simply a matter of continuing forward or living in the past. Another prominent theme in this book that captivated me was the explanation of time. Billy gets abducted by aliens in the novel who explain to him their concept of such a matter. They see time as everything in the universe happening simultaneously. We as individual humans are so insignificant and the events that happen during our lifetime are so insignificant that to let them consume our existence is pointless. We don't have to ignore them or attempt to forget; sometimes it's impossible for those conditions to occur. However, we must keep moving forward despite our positions as it is only fair to live as freely and as happily as we can given our short duration of life: to become "unstuck in time" as Billy Pilgram states it.

The Fandom...

        Slaughterhouse-5 was published in the year 1969 during the time of the Vietnam war. Due to its anti-war theme, Kurt Vonnegut and his novel became extremely popular among college activists during this era. This quickly made him one of the most popular writers of his time (4). As of now, slightly over fifty years into the future, the cult following of Vonnegut's novel has died down. After extensive research and many trips down several rabbit holes, I could not find a fan base as dedicated or diehard as other books. However, this does not reflect negatively on the work. Nearly 55 years into the future, people fall in love with this novel every single day for a plethora of reasons. Not only that, but the story is continually referenced throughout pop culture.

        

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        On his final 2018 album prior to his unfortunate passing, Mac Miller released a song titled "So it Goes." Inspired by Vonnegut's work, Mac Miller writes about the uncertainties of life given success or failure: either could change at either moment (7). In a letter written by Kurt Vonnegut's attorney/manager, he says, "So it goes' does not denote apathy... but rather is used whenever there is a mention of death. At times used tragically, at other times absurdly, this phrase, comes to represent the randomness of death" (8). Strangely enough, Mac Miller had "So it Goes" playing on his Instagram story the day of his certainly tragic and unexpected passing. He claimed the ending of this track to be his favorite part of the new album, claiming its an "ascension to heaven" (7). The oddity of this situation makes one question life and its coincidental nature, but surely enough, Mac and Vonnegut would simply brush this off, claiming, "so it goes."

In Closing

        Though Slaughterhouse-5's fandom is more or less a thing of the past, if one were to look at it from a Tralfalmadorian perspective, it is still happening and also ending at every second. One of the most beautiful things about this book is its level headed tone. After all the tragedy Billy Pilgram has gone through, he still continues on repeating his signature phrase in the face of whatever comes next. There is "nothing intelligent" to say about time or of death or of war or destruction. We as humans become so obsessed with our tiny existence that we forget to focus on the important aspects like personal happiness and contentment. When you scratch below the surface, one will find nothing but themselves simultaneously beginning, being, and ending.

Works Cited

1. Monteys, Albert. Slaughterhouse-5. February 10, 2020. Boom! Studios, Los Angeles,                                   CA. https://www.polygon.com/comics/2020/9/15/21438090/slaughterhouse-five-comic-graphic-             novel-kurt-vonnegut-ryan-north-albert-monteys. Accessed February 24, 2021.

2. Biddle, Tami. "Dresden 1945: Reality, History, and Memory." Journal of Military History, Vol. 72,                no. 2, April, 2008, pp. 413-449. Historical Abstracts with Full Text, doi:10.1353/jmh.2008.0074.                      Accessed February 23, 2021.

3. Allen, William. "A Brief Biography of Kurt Vonnegut." Kurt Vonnegut Museum                                              Library, https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/kurt-biography/. Accessed February 23, 2021.

4. "Kurt Vonnegut." Ultimate Pop Culture                                                                                                             Wiki, https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut. Accessed February 23, 2021.

5. Unknown Artist. So it Goes. https://images.8tracks.com/cover/i/002/888/740/vonn-7306.png?                        rect=0,194,600,600&q=98&fm=jpg&fit=max&w=320&h=320. Accessed February 23, 2021.

6. Miller, Mac. "Swimming." Warner Bros, 2018.

7. Sullivan, Oscar. "So it Goes: Grappling With the Death of Mac Miller, an Artist who was Always                  Trying to be Better." Orange N' Blue, https://www.orangenblue.com/post/so-it-goes-grappling-               with-the-death-of-mac-miller-an-artist-who-was-always-trying-to-be-better-1. Accessed                        February 24, 2021.

8. Jones, Preston. "And So it Goes." The New York                                                                                                Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/books/review/and-so-it-goes.html?                                        mtrref=www.google.com. Accessed February 24, 2021.