Here are the average novel word counts in the top five genres in the book. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. Slaughterhousefive questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on slaughterhousefive. Slaughterhousefive, a semiautobiographical account of the firebombing of dresden, is one of kurt vonneguts most influential tales.
I love to know the word counts of books and essays. Since the book is so intertwined with the historic bombing, it is important to teach students about the bombing of dresden, germany, by the allied forces during world war ii and how vonnegut survived these attacks while being kept as a prisoner of war in a. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Slaughterhousefive was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a best seller, and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as catch22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade. Why word count matters when you submit your book the artful. One guy i knew really was shot for taking a teapot that wasnt his. From what point of view is chapter one told, and what effect does this literary.
He does this through description of his own war experience, and through the narrative of billy pilgrim, a fictional character whose path occasionally intersects. Slaughterhousefive is part autobiographical, part sciencefiction, part sarcastic master work by kurt vonnegut. Slaughterhousefive was hugely successful, brought vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the national book award and a bestseller and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as catch22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade. Collecting slaughterhousefive by vonnegut, kurt first. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhouse five are between 4050,000 words. I do plan to reread the book in the future to hopefully understand it better, but i did not get it the first time. I loved the book, dont get me wrong, but i might be missing a deeper meaning. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words.
Centering on the infamous world war ii firebombing of dresden, the novel. Asked in books and literature how many pages does five chimneys have. Word count estimates are not guaranteed to be accurate. I am announcing slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut is book of the month botm of my. A dutydance with death is a satirical novel by kurt vonnegut and is generally recognized as his most influential and popular work. A novel modern library 100 best novels 9780812988529. The theme of science fiction and aliens in slaughterhouse. Slaughterhous five is one of the worlds great antiwar books. The theme of war and death in slaughterhousefive from. I have had plenty of heartbreaking experiences where i have read and loved a book, then watched the movie and was flabbergasted by how bad it was, so i prepared to watch this movie with trepidation. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. I recently finished reading kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five and i quite enjoyed it but i dont get why it is so highly praised as being one of the greatest books ever written. Centering on the infamous firebombing of dresden, billy pilgrims odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to organization.
Predestination and free will in slaughterhouse five. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Since the book is so intertwined with the historic bombing, it is important to teach students about the bombing of dresden, germany, by the allied forces during world war ii and how vonnegut survived these attacks while being kept as a prisoner of. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in slaughterhouse five, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
You can use this handy calculation to visualize the size of standard books in particular. The grandfather clock that fell on top of billy symbolizes the pressure of time on this particular man. Fifty years have passed since the publication of slaughterhouse five. I am writing a paper comparing beloved and slaughterhouse five. Centering on the infamous firebombing of dresden, billy pilgrims odyssey through time reflects the. How does one even find the words to write about it. In the opening chapter of slaughterhouse five, kurt vonnegut recounts his being unable to write a war book about the dresden firebombing february 15, 1945, which he survived. Use one of our words per minute calculator to estimate your reading speed as best as possible. Full text of slaughterhouse five or the children s crusade. Though you know this book as slaughterhousefive, the full title is actually slaughterhousefive, or the childrens crusade.
List of books and articles about slaughterhousefive. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. Slaughterhouse five is an attempt by the author, kurt vonnegut, jr. Try to select the reading level that corresponds to the category of book you will be reading. Time, timetravel, and free will theme analysis litcharts. Why its called slaughterhousefive is something ill hold back as a joy for you to discover, should you deem to read it. Slaughterhousefive boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in vonneguts other works, but the books basis in rockhard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy and humor. Set around world war ii, the novels tells of the story of billy pilgrim, a chaplains assistant, and his experiences and journeys through time. Cover of slaughterhousefive 1969 by the american author kurt vonnegut. Audiobook hd audio cats cradle by kurt vonnegut youtube. This is one thing that works really well to deepen the meaning of.
Centering on the infamous world war ii firebombing of dresden, the novel is the result of what vonnegut describes as a twentythreeyear struggle to write a book about what he himself witnessed as an american prisoner of war. Slaughterhousefive project gutenberg selfpublishing. Get everything you need to know about time, timetravel, and free will in slaughterhouse five. And the older i get, and the more lumps fall off my brain, the more i find that rereading is the thing.
Vonnegut uses selfreference throughout the novel to call into question the truth of his and billy pilgrims report of the dresden bombings. Slaughterhouse five chapter 1 kurt vonnegut youtube. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. Billys story in slaughterhouse five has no beginning, no middle, no end, just as tralfamadorian writing has none. Slaughterhousefive is an account of billy pilgrims capture and incarceration by the germans during the last years of world war ii, and scattered throughout the narrative are episodes from billys life both before and after the war, and from his travels to the planet tralfamadore trawlfahmuhdoor. Slaughterhousefive includes another feature often associated with postmodern fiction. Vonnegut uses science fiction and aliens as means of knitting together events in billy pilgrims life, and of enabling philosophical discussions about the nature of time and death. Reading length is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to and affiliated sites.
Slaughterhousefive is the story of billy pilgrims life, framed around his time in the second world war more specifically, the terrible bombing of dresden, of which he is, was and will be a survivor. Like the painter, most writers arent too focused on book length or statistics. The reverse side is a cozy sherpa fleece material offwhite, no print. If you are an author of a book or know of a books accurate wordcount, contact me. All text samples are sourced from classic books provided by project gutenberg. I mention vietnam because, although slaughterhouse five is a book about the second world war, vietnam is also a presence in its pages, and peoples feelings about vietnam have a good deal. Word counts and other distractions griffin paul jackson. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Slaughterhousefive or the childrens crusade a dutydance with death kurt vonnegut, jr. Why slaughterhousefive resonates 50 years later the.
Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. September 2009 bbc radio 4 broadcast a feature length radio drama based on the book which was dramatised by dave sheasby and which starredread by my favourite actor andrew scott as billy. No suspense occurs in the novel because vonnegut divulges all of billys life by the end of chapter two, just as all of the past, the present, and the future is known to the tralfamadorians. The presence of the narrator in slaughterhouse five. Slaughterhousefive book summaries, test preparation. It also has one of the alltime great opening lines in literature as it begins what is surely one of the strangest meditations on war. What kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive tells us now. Our book page count calculator will help you figure out how many pages. Or we can calculate word counts ourselves by turning to the ruleofthumb that says each page is. And billy had seen the greatest massacre in european history, which was the firebombing of dresden. Kurt vonnegut, slaughterhousefive ive read slaughterhousefive several times and im still not sure i know exactly how vonnegut pulls it off. According to nanowrimo, manuscripts must be over 50k words to qualify.
These are all of the sources used in the making of these papers and articles. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following material. A dutydance with death 1969 is a satirical novel by kurt vonnegut about world war ii experiences and journeys through time of a chaplains assistant named billy pilgrim. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of slaughterhousefive and what it means.
It is generally recognized as vonneguts most influential and popular work. How does the title page of slaughterhouse five differ from that of a conventional book. Slaughterhouse five chapter 1 kurt vonnegut duration. A novel modern library 100 best novels paperback january 12, 1999. Slaughterhousefive, an american classic, is one of the worlds great antiwar books. Billy is able to move both forwards and backwards through his lifetime in an. Slaughterhousefive is an extremely entertaining read, and an important book for teen readers to explore more deeply in a classroom setting. It is an absurd look at war, memory, time, and humanity, but it is also gentle. When main character billy pilgrim winds up in dresden, germany, as a prisoner of war pow in world war ii, he and 100 other american pows are kept in an abandoned slaughterhouse called slaughterhousefive. Find your reading speed in words per minute using any of the following texts. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Selected by the modern library as one of the 100 best novels of all time, slaughterhousefive, an american classic, is one of the worlds great antiwar books. Slaughterhouse five is the sixtyseventh entry to the american library associations list of the most frequently challenged books of 19901999 and number fortysix on the alas most frequently challenged books of 20002009.
A summary of chapter 10 in kurt vonneguts slaughterhousefive. It is often assigned by college and high school reading and writing classes, especially when our president wants us to go out and kill somebody. However, i was pleasantly surprised to discover that slaughterhouse five is a much better movie. Vonneguts satirical, pessimistic, and yet morally urgent novels often portray the world as a place of cruelty and indifference and frequently protest the horrors of the 20th cent.
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