The depiction of war in the novels "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "A Farewell to Arms"

Essai , 2006 , 12 Pages , Note: 1,3

Philologie Américaine - Littérature

The two novels A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut have a lot in common at first sight. Both are books about wars in Europe written by American authors, and although the protagonists in both novels experience things that are partly very similar to their authors’ experiences, none of the novels is an autobiography, e.g. Hemingway’s story ends about two months before he went to Europe (Cooper, 33). Both of the novels deal not only with war stories but roam around other genres, be it a science fiction story in Vonnegut’s case or a love story in Hemingway’s. Both authors had direct and severe experiences with war. Despite of all similarities we also find very big differences in the depiction of war and the way the two authors cope with their shocking experiences. Both of the authors use a very own and subjective depiction of war in their novels and we find big differences in the way they describe war. This essay will take a closer look on how the two novels depict war in different ways and the messages that we can draw from their works.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• The depiction of war in the novels Slaughterhouse-Five and A Farewell to Arms
• The authors and the novels' backgrounds
• A comparison of the two authors' writing styles
• Other literary techniques
• The depiction of the two main characters

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This essay aims to analyze and compare the depictions of war in Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. The essay explores the authors' personal experiences with war and how these experiences are reflected in their writing styles and literary techniques. It focuses on how the novels differ in their portrayals of war and the messages they convey about the human experience of conflict.

• The impact of personal experience on the authors' representations of war
• The use of literary techniques to depict the horrors of war
• The contrasting writing styles of Hemingway and Vonnegut
• The differences in the characters' experiences and responses to war
• The thematic messages conveyed through the novels

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The essay opens by introducing the two novels and their authors, highlighting their shared experiences with war in Europe. It then delves into the authors' backgrounds and how their personal experiences shaped their writing. The essay then compares the distinct writing styles of Hemingway and Vonnegut, analyzing their use of first-person and third-person narration, as well as their literary techniques, such as foreshadowing and meta-fiction. The essay concludes by examining the characterization of the protagonists, Frederic Henry and Billy Pilgrim, contrasting their personalities and experiences with war.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The primary keywords and focus topics of this essay include the depictions of war in American literature, Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut, A Farewell to Arms, Slaughterhouse-Five, writing styles, literary techniques, first-person narration, third-person narration, foreshadowing, meta-fiction, characterization, and the human experience of war.

• Université: University of Bayreuth (Lehrstuhl für Amerikanistik)
• Cours: PS Representations of War in American Culture
• Note: 1,3
• Auteur: Uwe Mehlbaum (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2006
• Pages: 12
• N° de catalogue: V139293
• ISBN (ebook): 9783640496198
• ISBN (Livre): 9783640496365
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: Slaughterhouse Five, Slaughterhouse 5, Children's, Crusade, Farewell, to, Arms, Kurt, Vonnegut, Ernest, Hemingway, war, literature, Weltkrieg, Kriegsliteratur, Slaughter, House, Five