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Delaney Guillou

Honors Junior Literature and Composition

Mr. Pace

March 13th, 2023

Same Genre, Different Stories

Metafiction is 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 portrays metafiction as soon as

we begin reading. “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’s use

of metafiction early on 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,
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but not until later on in her story when she 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 interacting with

the readers throughout their books, clarifying what is real and what is not, proves these sources

to be metafiction.

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). Highlighting 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, as she is discreet and thorough. The evidence

provided 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
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discreetly throughout her story.

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.