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Delaney Guillou

Honors Junior Literature and Composition

Mr. Pace

March 13th, 2023

Same Genre, Different Stories

Metafiction, a genre where the narrator or characters within a book are aware of the

fictional events they create or take part of. In the novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, the author, Kurt

Vonnegut voices his opinions of the characters actions throughout the story. In the short story,

“The Harvest”, the author, Amy Kempel, fictionalizes her own life and reveals the truth at the

end of the story. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, and The Harvest, by Amy Hempel,

both demonstrate the genre metafiction, sharing multiple similarities such as the authors

interacting with the readers throughout the book. However, the two authors present the genre

throughout their books differently, as Vonnegut pops in to state his own opinion once in a while,

while Hempel is constantly interacting with the readers.

Both Vonnegut and Hempel use the genre metafiction throughout their books, interacting

with the readers by bringing to light the fictional events and characters they create. In

Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut presents the genre as he quotes, “All this happened, more or

less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true. One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for

taking a teapot that wasn't his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal

enemies killed by hired gunmen after the war. And so on. I've changed all the names” (Vonnegut,

pg 1). This is significant to prove Vonnegut uses the genre metafiction as he reveals the truth

behind the novel and the fictional characters and events he creates in the first chapter. This is

quite similar to how Kempel reveals the truth of her book, but not until later on in her story. As
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Kempel quotes, “I leave a lot out when I tell the truth. The same when I write a story. I'm going

to start now to tell you what I left out of “The Harvest.” (Kempel, pg 13). This quote gives us a

deeper understanding of the genre metafiction and the texts under this discussion as Kempel

gives us a direct and honest truth right within the book. These two sources confirm the idea

behind metafiction as both authors are revealing their truth behind their books at some point or

another. As stated in the thesis, both authors are interacting with the readers throughout their

books, clarifying what is real and what is not.

Though these two books follow the genre metafiction, Vonnegut and Kempel present the

genre differently as in how and when they present the truth. In chapter 5 of Vonnegut's novel, he

quotes, “Moments later he said, ‘there they go, there they go.’ He meant his brains. That was I.

That was me. That was the author of this book.” (Vonnegut, pg 125). This quote is significant to

highlight that Vonnegut would pop into different chapters throughout his book to reveal the truth,

as he states that an event he reported on in his fictional story was actually a truth within his life.

This method of presenting metafiction is different from Kempels story and how she reveals her

truth to the readers. Kempel foreshadows her truth by little hints such as this quote throughout

her story, “The five days they didnt know if they could save my leg or not I stretched to ten.”

(Kempel, pg 9). This quote is significant as it can be confusing to know if she is using

metafiction or not as she suggests so casually throughout her story that she lies here and there.

These two quotes challenge each other as though they are similar to how the authors are trying to

present the genre, readers may interpret Kempels truth differently. The evidence in this paragraph

supports the claim that the authors present metafiction differently throughout their books as

Vonnegut does so directly at different times in his novel, while Kempel does so discreetly

throughout her story.

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Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, and “The Harvest”, by Amy Kempel, both use

the genre metafiction throughout their stories, although presenting the genre in two different

ways as Vonnegut is more direct and sparse and Kempel is discreet and thorough. These two

texts can lead to further points of consideration, such as taking a closer look at different novels

and deciphering how those authors present similar genres in different ways.
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Works Cited

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five . Laurel, 1991.

Kempel , Amy. “At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: ‘The Harvest’ .” Goodreads, Goodreads,

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33303.At_the_Gates_of_the_Animal_Kingdom.