Research Blog (pt. 2)

Jarvis, Christina. “The Vietnamization of World War II in Slaughterhouse-Five and Gravity’s Rainbow.” War, Literature and the Arts: An

                   International Journal of the Humanities 15.1 (2003): 95-117. Web. 17 Feb. 2013.

In terms of studying people’s attitudes towards war, this source is quite helpful. It examines the change in thought process involving World War II during the time of the Vietnam War. In that respect, it provides added context to the time period in which the book was written.

Doyle, RC. “Shadows of Slaughterhouse Five: Recollections and Reflections of the American Ex-POWs of Schlachthof Funf, Dresden,

Germany.” Journal of Military History(2010): 290-91. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

This source provides personal accounts of American POWs that were present at the time of the Dresden bombing and will provide added perspective to that of Kurt Vonnegut, allowing for the most rounded account possible.

Research Blog

My topic for Inquiry 2 is the concept of why people are complacent about war and how we simply accept it as an inevitability.

Singh, Suhkbir. “Time, War and The Baghavad Gita.” N.p., 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

This source is an examination of Slaughterhouse-Five with the intent of relating it to the title of the journal article. I feel this will be helpful in that it falls directly in line with my topic. The most valuable asset of this source is that it pertains to my topic entirely.

Kunze, Peter C. “For the Boys: Masculinity, Gray Comedy and Vietnam in Slaughterhouse-Five.” Studies in American Humor 3.26 (n.d.):

41-57. Web. 16 Feb. 2013.

This source will help me better identify the places in which Vonnegut is making jokes that I may or may not have picked up on. With that, I will helpfully be able to broaden my available passages for usage in my response to Inquiry 2. The main point of this text, after all, is to analyze the humor of Slaughterhouse-Five.

Chabot, Barry C. “Slaughterhouse-Five and the Comforts of Indifference.” Essays in Literature 1981st ser. 8.1 (n.d.): 45-51. Web. 17 Feb.

2013.

The part I like about this source is the second half of the title. “The Comforts of Indifference” are exactly what I am attempting to write about and this source essentially explains in detail what I am trying to understand about the issues presented in Slaughterhouse-Five. The author of this source is after the same thing that I am, and it will provide added context to my argument.

Blog entry for 2/4/13

For class on Monday, we were to have read to page 221 of The Road. I am really beginning to enjoy the book. I’m starting to find myself really engaging with the characters. For example, when the boy and man get to the ocean on page 216, I can really feel the way the man loves the boy. He at first does not want the boy to swim in the ocean, but after the boy assures him he will be fine, the man decides that he actually WANTS him to have this experience. It’s very interesting to see the man toe the line between caring so much for the boy that he must do everything he can to protect him and loving the boy so much that he wants him to have every possible good experience that the post-apocalyptic world can offer. 

Also, another interesting note is that even when the man is talking to the boy and you can see the love he has for him, to the boy it must sound very serious still. I feel that the man is trying to keep the boy as strong as possible, not wanting to outwardly show him too much love for fear of coddling him. At the same time, as mentioned above, you can really tell how much he cares for the boy.