Slaughterhouse-Five

Reading the plot of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, the general idea of the novel is a boy who goes to war and becomes captured by the German soldiers. Seems normal enough, but upon further reading, it is also about the boy getting abducted by aliens and brought back to their planet. He becomes "unstuck in time" and is forced to visit and revisit his past and future events.

This can be related to Oryx and Crake because Snowman feels trapped in his past. He is constantly thinking back to his childhood and adolescence. He becomes consumed in the memories and the thoughts of regret. Many chapters are of Snowman revisiting his past, and I believe they will eventually add up into his present. As of now in the book, I have no idea what happened to Snowman, why he refers to himself as Snowman instead of Jimmy, and what happened to the world.

The major themes of Slaughterhouse-Five are fate, free will, and the illogical nature of human beings.

I think all these themes can be tied into Oryx and Crake. Fate because Snowman, it seems, has given up on any hope he once had. I think he knows his fate is simply death. This could also be foreshadowing though, maybe something drastic will happen to change his fate. In the compounds, it does not seem that young Jimmy had a lot of free will. No one did. They could not leave and had a lot of restrictions on what they could and couldn't do, such as curfews. In the present, Snowman has too much free will because there is no one to tell him what to do.

I think the illogical nature of human beings relates most to Oryx and Crake because it seems like the humans in the novel do not have their priorities straight. These people are living in these compounds where they alter animals to give them things they need, such as organs. The organs can help people immensely, but they also do other experiments such as create new species and create microbes to alter your skin to 'perfection'. In a world where you can't freely travel wherever you want, you would think that they would have bigger priorities. I think that has a lot to do about the novel, how humans easily lose their way and get too caught up in the material things in life. I think it is a message that we need to change our ways as to not end up with a world similar to the one in this novel.

The allusion in Oryx and Crake can definitively relate to the novel. I also predict there to be some sort of extraterrestrial involvement too.

Reader Response

"'It is the strict adherence to daily routine that tends towards the maintenance of good morale and the preservation of sanity,' he says out loud. He has the feeling he is quoting from a book, some obsolete, ponderous directive written in aid of European colonials running plantations of one kind or another. He can't recall ever having read such a thing, but that means nothing."

This passage stands out to me because it reminds me of when I have some sort of quote stuck in my head, whether it be from a television show or simply a song lyric. I recite it over and over in my head trying to recall where I got it from until I can find a computer to Google it and end my curiosity. For the character in this book, there is no way for him to find out where it's from. This also stands out to me because of the way he quotes the line to himself. Snowman is stuck in this endless routine for survival. He says it to himself to remind himself that he gets up everyday for a reason, and even though his circumstances are very extreme, I think we all need that reminder sometimes.

Allusion: I decided to look up the quote he says and it turns out it is from a book called Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. The novel was published in 1969.

Choosing a Book

Seeing the list of possible book choices, a few titles stood out to me. The Help and Water for Elephants first because I recently watched those movies. Even though the books are probably much better, I didn't think I would enjoy the book as much if I had already watched the movie. I started just picking out interesting titles in no particular order. This method turned out to be a horrible idea. Reading the descriptions and reviews I found them all to be very uninteresting to me. So, I thought I would try a new approach.

I started looking up titles that I did not entirely understand or that did not sound interesting. This proved to be quite successful. I soon had a modest list of four books. It included:

• The Robber Bride by Margret Atwood
• The Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
• The Day the Falls Stood Still by Catherina Marie Buchanan
• Oryx and Crake by Margret Atwood

They are all very different books. The one I decided to choose in the end is Oryx and Crake by Margret Atwood. Though I am not one-hundred percent sure how to pronounce the title, it seems like a very interesting read. I am a sucker for a love story, but I find books that make you think and leave an impression on the way you see the world more fulfilling. Based on the reviews, I think this book has that. 

It was published on April 20, 2004. The book is (a mere) 443 pages. I personally really enjoy long books. I am not a fan when the book ends if I am truly enjoying it. As for a reading schedule, I am going to read at least 12 pages a day to finish it by the deadline. It will probably end up being a lot more a day though. I am looking forward to starting the book.