Radu Daria Maria

3rd year,American Literature

Prof. Nae Andrei

Humanism in Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughter House 5"

One of the greatest figures of Postmodern literature, Kurt Vonnegut declares himself ,from the very
beginning, a humanist: "I am a humanist,which means,in part,that I have tried to behave decently
without expectations of rewards or punishment after I am dead". Humanism is a philosophical and
ethical system ,mainly based on the agency of human beings. It also rejects dogmatic or superstitious
ideas, preferring more rational explanations. This line of free thought has as its main purpose to build a
better an a more functional society, rooted in the ethical responsibility not only to ourselves,but also to
each other. In this essay I will try to emphasis the humanistic aspects in "Slaughter House 5",even
though it is not an easy task, given the fact that one could easily be tempted to think that the novel
supports fatalism ,therefore the lack of agency.

As I previously mentioned,humanism involves a great deal of skepticism regarding religion ,and

Vonnegut directs his rage in "Slaughter House 5" at a bloody Christianity that generates Children's
Crusade,which in his opinion, allows people to rationalize violence in the name of a god ,therefore it
stands for a belief that absolves people from any form of guilt. Eventhough indirectly, Vonnegut urges
the reader to get rid of a supernatural concept of a supreme being, throughout the novel, he debates a
lot the ideas proposed by Christianity. Relevant for our matter is a certain character ,namely the
fictional novelist Kilgore Trout, the author of the novel within the novel " The Gospel from Outer
Space". Billy Pilgrim,the main character, is a fan of Trout, an particularly "The Gospel from Outer
Space" has a great influence on him. Trout's story is about an outer space visitor who studies
Christianity,being curious to find out why do Christians act so malicious to each other. Therefore, Billy
Pilgrim and the narrator look to create a different approach to Christianity,with a more human Jesus
Christ. This idea has a great impact on the novel ,regarding the idea of self-agency and free-
will,because it is suggested that Jesus should be a "nobody", an ordinary man, even a "bum".Why is
this so important? Because if Jesus looses his divine nature and becomes "a bum",it means that he is
imperfect ,so that he gets directly or indirectly involved in the process of evil. That means he fully
experiences the human condition, and that is how the traditional approach of Christianity turnes into a
humanistic Christianity, which demands moral choice,unlike the fatalistic Christianity in which every
decision and disastrous effect are left in the hands of God. The humanistic Christianity demands that
we should revere each other as christic figures, since we all are God's children. That is how humanity
gains more importance and more self-agency.

There is also another relevant biblical reference ,which involves the story of Lot's wife. As the gospel
says,Lot's wife disobeyed God's order and looked back to the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. As a
punishment she was turned into a pillar of salt. The narrator states how much he loved her gesture,as it
fully displayed her humanity. By not following God's seemingly ruthless request, she chooses to show
empathy towards the rest of the people in pain ,and therefore she looks back.I believe Vonnegut
identified himself with Lot's wife,given his experience in Dresden,which makes even more interesting
the contradiction with the view of the Tralfamadorians who did not believe in free-will, and used a
certain type of escapism(they took shelter in in different moments in time) in order to survive the
horrors of war. Vonnegut by retelling us the story of Lot's wife,suggests a more human view of looking
back and accepting the past with empathy.
Nevertheless, the narrator uses another religious element ,namely the Serenity Prayer:"God, grant me
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,courage to change the things I can,and wisdom to
know the difference". In my opinion, this simple prayer sums up the whole concept behind the novel.
So,in the end, the story is about the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong, between what we
can and what we cannot change. Some things may catch as unprepared or they are merely
predetermined,as one has to face the key moments in life all alone: birth,death and the pain in between-
the experience of war,but there are also certain things that can or could have been changed. Throughout
the novel, there are some unnecessary events,that shouldn't have happened,such as the execution of
Edgar Derby at the end of the war just for taking a pot of tea or the firebombing of Dresden. These
events are impardonable,and they cannot be blamed on any kind of fatalism. Also,there are a few
instances ,when the characters exercise their free-will. Again,there's Edgar Derby,who stands up against
Campbell ,the Nazi traitor. Edgar's character is exemplar ,as he sticks to his belief,regardless the risk.
There's also an unique moment when the main character Billy attempts to tell the whole world about
the Tralfamadorians,but his efforts are cut short by Barbara,his daughter.

The narrator knows that his book won't prevent wars or cure the trauma and the pain of this world,but
he can start a conversation so that the future generations will have a better Derby is understanding of
what does it mean a war. As he claims, his main weapon is his pen. Vonnegut uses his fictional power
not only in a cathartic way, but also in order to beware other "children" from getting involved in a
"crusade". In the beginning of the book,the narrator has a conversation with one with his friends,a
director named Harisson Starr who after being told that his friend is about to write a book about war, he
tells him:"Do you know what I say to people when I hear they're writing anti-war books?I say, Why
don't you write an anti-glacier book instead?" and the narrator agrees. But latter he has another
interesting conversation with Mary O'Hare,the wife of one of his war comrades. After she hears that the
narrator is set to write a book about war,she has an almost aggressive reaction,believing that he is about
to glamorize the war,and write about great heroes ,turning the war into a "virility-contest" so that the
future children will perceive it as something glorious. As far as she is concerned, the more attractive the
artists will make war seem,the more conflicts are going to exist-“You'll pretend you were men instead
of babies, and you'll be played in the movies by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne or some of those other
glamorous, war-loving, dirty old men. And war will look just wonderful, so we'll have a lot more of
them. And they'll be fought by babies like the babies upstairs” .Vonnegut comforts her,explaining that
he won't write a book that celebrates war,but one that will be just in depicting the horrors of such an
unfortunate event. Therefore,the book is par excellence an anti-war book,the humanistic attempt of an
artist to contribute to the subversion of a future event of this magnitude. Even the irony in the second
title -"The Children's Crusade:A Duty-Dance with Death" attempts to dismantle the war mongering
philosophy. The crusades were those holy wars during the 13 th century,in which children were
sacrificed in the name of the God or the Church. Perhaps that's why Mary O'Hare tells him that the
soldiers were by no means heroes or men, they were just innocent children,sent to a war that was not
theirs. Vonnegut conducts his very own crusade ,but his one is a secular,humanistic and ,let us
say,a"sane" one. It must be mentioned that at the time Vonnegut was writing "Slaughter House five " in
1969 , The Vietnam War was still going strong, therefore the echo and the success of this novel.
Vonnegut employs his fiction in order to meliorate the devastating effects of the war and to prevent the
death of many other innocent human beings by telling some powerful stories. Although,the novel is
more or less autobiographical,as the author fought in WWII and was involved in the whole Dresden
affair,Vonnegut was a pacifist. In his " Bad Business: Vietnam and Recent Mass Market Fiction" Philip
Biedler salutes Vonnegut's initiative ,believing that the novel continues to enlarge the American vision
on what happened during the Vietnamese War , and of how, nearly three decades later, the war
continues to inscribe itself, in varying cultural reinterpretations, on the American and universal
memory.
All in all,I truly believe that "Slaughter House 5" is based on a steady humanist foundation,although
throughout the novel we confront a new perspective ,such us the lack of free will ,implied by the
Tralfamadorian philosophy. In the end,the book is about accepting a different view ,which coveys a
strong pacifistic message. Nevertheless,it is a piece that discreetly encourages us to persist in a noble
fight for a better world. As Elie Wiesel said :" There may be times when we are powerless to prevent
injustice,but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."

Bibliography:
1. Biedler, Phil. Bad Business: Vietnam and Recent MassMarket Fiction. College English 54.1 Jan
1992, 64-75.
2.Vonnegut,kurt .Slaughter House5 .1969