Part I:Slaughter-House Five. Choose three (3)

Part I:Slaughter-House Five. Choose three (3). .
1) Kurt Vonnegut’s novels frequently examine the concept of “useful lies.” Choose one specific example from this novel that you believe could be seen as a “useful lie.”
2) Why are the Tralfmadorians most interested in Charles Darwin, out of all the Earthlings? What philosophies of theirs do you think relate to a Darwinian perspective?
3) In Chapter Two we read that “Billy Pilgrim had stopped in the forest… He dimly sensed that someone was rescuing him. Billy resented that.” We return to this moment a couple of times where we see Billy not wanting to be rescued and wanting to be left behind. Why do you think this is?
4) Why does Roland Weary, the last of the “Three Musketeers” say that Billy Pilgrim is responsible for his death? Is there any truth to this claim? Why or why not? Explain.
5) Discuss the context and thematic significance of the following citation: “They made Billy get out of the wagon and come look at the horses. When Billy saw the conditions of his means of transportation, he burst into tears. He hadn’t cried about anything else in the war” (202).
6) Discuss the overall thematic significance of the following citation: “[H]e said to Rumfoord, ‘I was in Dresden when it was bombed. I was a prisoner of war…We don’t ever have to talk about it…I just want you to know: I was there’” (198).
7) Discuss the overall thematic significance of the following citation: “There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because much of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters. But old Derby was a character now” (168).
8) Discuss the role of Kilgore Trout in the novel. Why does Billy’s daughter “hate” him? How does the fiction of Trout relate to the overall “meta” theme of literature in the text? Use one citation to support and illustrate your insights.
Part II: Films and short stories: choose two (2)
9) Dunkirk depicts three stories on land, sea, and air, each with different characters and story arcs. All three narratives are presented as “equal,” even though they do not share the same screen time. How do the characters and story arcs combine to create a singular story about survival? In other words, how does the theme of survival seem build to become the most important in the film? Do not merely discuss plot—what does the film “say” about the subject of survival?
10) In the film The Reader, discuss the multiple applications of the title to the film. To whom do you think the title ultimately refers, and why?
11) In both stories “A Perfect Day for Banana Fish” by Salinger and “Beware of the Dog” by Dahl there are surface narratives of what is supposed to be going on, and the underlying narrative of what is really going on, which is far darker. Choose one story and compare the ways in which the reader comes to understand the reality of the situation. What clues guide you to the climax of the story, with the realizations at the end?

Last Completed Projects