Sarah+Cho's+Summer+Reading

 Slaughter-House-Five Kurt Vonnegut Sarah Cho




 * Essay 1**

Baptism is a religious ritual that gives a picture of what it looks like to die and become reborn as a new creation. Typically this ritual involves submerging the a person in water then having that person come out of the water. In Kurt Vonnegut's __Slaughterhouse-Five__, there is a scene in which the main character is a young boy who is drowning in his swimming pool, but he doesn't want to be rescued. This is related to baptism because it involves the painful rebirth that is symbolized by coming out of the pool.

In the first part of this scene, Billy is reminiscing about when he was in his mother's womb. He describes that time as the most peaceful and beautiful moment he experienced in his life. Next, he reminisces about the time during his childhood when his father was trying to teach him how to swim. The method used by his father was to swim-or-sink, and he pushed Billy into the water. Billy eventually loses consciousness and hears music all along.

Being baptized is described as a ritual that can possibly be painful in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. By applying this idea to this scene, it seems that Billy did not want to come out of the water because his time there was described as a beautiful moment. "When he opened his eyes, he was on the bottom of the pool, and there was beautiful music everywhere. He lost consciousness, but the music went on. He dimly sensed that somebody was rescuing him. Billy resented that (44)." This further proves that Billy's emergence from the water or "rebirth" is a painful one just like what baptism is suppose to symbolize.

To be able to be reborn could be an opportunity, but the pain described in the book shows that baptism can also be a thing that one resents. Billy, as a character of Kurt Vonnegut’s, expresses baptism as a painful event: he resents being rescued. __How to Read Literature Like a Professor__ teaches readers how to understand even anti-war novels in a more “religious” way.

//**Comments**//

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Hey Sarah, I really think that Billy’s experience is a perfect example of Baptism in literature. He’s drowning, he’s thinking of the past, he’s rescued, and he goes through pain. They’re all great evidence that proves Billy is being reborn. Your quote is also nice, since it supports the fact that Billy did indeed go through pain while he was emerging from the water, or should I say, being baptized. I like how you mention Billy’s reminiscence about his past because it adds more meaning to his rebirth. However, it would be even better if you talk about what happens after he is rescued. Knowing the exact changes would fully make his drowning a baptism, but right now, it feels a bit incomplete. In what ways does he change? How does he deal with his memories and his past? Explaining these parts would make your essay much more easier to understand, even for people like me that haven’t read the book. Other than that, everything seems to be fine. Great job!======

-Daeun Lee

Your essay throughly explained the definition of Baptism and how it symbolizes the situation in which a boy feels comfort while drowning in the water. By reading the brief summary of a particular chapter of your novel Slaughterhouse-Five, I was able to understand how baptism symbolized Billy's emergence from the water and how he felt while he was drowning. You also provided a quotation which further explained how baptism was found in your novel, which made further elaborated on your statements. If you were able to explain more on how your novel related to the understanding of anti-war novels in a religious way as mentioned in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, it would have been even better. Other than that, I feel that your essay provides enough explanation and evidence about how your novel used baptism.

- Kristie Lee


 * Essay 2**

A symbol is a representation of an object or a person that uses other things to resemble it. In the novel __Slaughterhouse-Five__ by Kurt Vonnegut, the character Kilgore Trout can be seen as resembling Kurt Vonnegut himself. Kilgore Trout is an under-appreciated science fiction writer who often uses sarcasm and irony in his writing. Trout also has a sarcastic sense of humor when talking to others. Whenever Trout uses sarcasm, the readers are reminded of Kurt Vonnegut's particular sense of sarcastic humor—which is the characteristic that makes Slaughterhouse-Five such a notable anti-war novel.

When Kilgore Trout was at Billy’s eighteenth anniversary, he was talking to a girl named Maggie White. As a joke, by making things up, he talked about a French chef's funeral. Trout made jokes about what people did to the French chef before the casket closed. Maggie White, due to Kurt Vonnegut’s sarcasm, asked Trout if it really happened.

In the book __How to Read Literature Like a Professor__ by Thomas C. Foster, symbolism is saids to be noticed by the readers as an object or images rather than events or actions. By using this idea, Kilgore Trout was represented as Kurt Vonnegut, the author of the book. In the novel, Kilgore Trout was an ironic writer, which was the representation of Vonnegut as a writer. The book itself is ironic, and so was Trout with his jokes: "Trout was making this up as he went along. 'Just before the casket is cosed, the mourners sprinkle parsley and paprika on the deceased.' (171)." Since this was brought out as a joke to Maggie White and because of the fact that he was joking about a person's funeral, it becomes even more ironic.

Making jokes about a war or even a person's death is often done through the use of irony or sarcasm. The idea that symbolism is understood in this novel of the character and the author can be different for many people, but one must notice that symbolism can be dependent on an instinct. The life of Kilgore Trout and Kurt Vonnegut were similar with the irony and sarcasm.


 * Comment**

Hi Sarah! Thanks for the comment! Your essay seems very interesting especially because a character actually symbolizes the author of the book. I like how you used different sentence structures to make your essay more appealing. Transitions between sentences seem to flow. The conclusion clearly states your idea and wraps up your essay. I also like your explanation about how the character is ironic and sarcastic. I think your essay would be better if you made more connections between Kurt Vonnegut and Kilgore Trout. I can see how they relate because they are both writers, but try and analyze why Vonnegut decided to portray himself as Trout in the story. Make sure to write in present tense when summarizing or referring to a story. Also, the first sentence of your essay and the first sentence of paragraph 3 both define what symbolism is, so maybe you can reword or delete one of the sentences. Apart from these, I think your essay is interesting. It sounds like a good book! Well done! -Soobin Bae


 * Essay 3**

A religious ritual, communion brings people together by sharing a piece of bread and a cup of wine. In a mysterious way, the simple bread and wine have the power to bring groups of people into a whole. In Kurt Vonnegut's __Slaughterhouse-Five__, there is a scene in which a bunch of prisoners of wars are packed together in a boxcar where they all start to drive one another crazy and each must fight for himself. However, when food enters the scene, Vonnegut tells the readers that all was shared by the soldiers and they became less selfish and violent. This resembles the mysterious act of communion with food that brings people together.

In the boxcar, where American and English soldiers were all together, there were a lot of verbal and physical disputes. No one tried to cooperate as a whole, and things were out of control. However, when food came into the car, the atmosphere completely changed. The soldiers were more caring, and functioned together as one organism. The mood became more calm, with more people caring for each other and with no disputes.

A communion can be defined in various ways, but communion as described by Thomas C. Foster means that a group of people came together for a reason and a goal. In the case of Slaughterhouse-Five, different soldiers came about as a group when food came into the scene. "When food came in [the boxcar], the human beings were quiet and trusting and beautiful” (70). In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, it is said that in a mysterious way, communion brings people together. Food may seem nothing to many people, but was an important idea that brought these soldiers together as a whole. Without the food, maybe the situation and relationship between these soldiers could have gotten worse.

Sometimes, such a simple thing as food can be the key to communion. As in the scene in Slaughterhouse-Five, the soldiers can be united with one item: food. By reading the novel, the readers are able to understand what a communion needs, and how people with different backgrounds can come together.


 * //Comments//**

Hi, Sarah! Your essay was clear and simple for your evidence and explanations were thorough but not complicated. The way you supported your opinion with Foster's explanation in his book was rational and the evidence you had was solid. One thing is that, it could just be me, but the way you mention the behaviors of soldiers after the food came out in two paragraphs, the second and the third, seemed a little repetitive but I understand that you couldn't write more due to the limited word count. The sentence transition was smooth and there weren't any big awkward moments while reading your essay. However, I noticed that you used the word, "communion" seven times. It would have been better if you used a different word than "communion," such as rapport. Also, instead of "more calm," I think you can use "calmer." The flow is better and you can get rid of one word to replace it with another. I'm not hundred percent sure about this one, but shouldn't you include the author's name in the paranthesis, considering that there were no previous quote citing the author? It could just be me but I couldn't exactely find your thesis statement for your essay. The ending sentence of the introductory paragraph didn't seem like the thesis statement. (The one that starts like, "This resembles...") I think you should underline Foster's book as well because it is the title of the book. Your conclusion paragraph was well done I think for it summarized all the points you addressed in the previous paragraphs. Overall, I really liked your essay and it really made me wonder the scene about the soldiers forming a communion in front of the food. I think it is a good book and I would like to read it someday. Good job!

- Alice Ahn


 * Essay 4**

Typically, violence in literature is violence between enemies. In the novel __Slaughterhouse-Five__ written by Kurt Vonnegut, violence has been used between two people on the same side during a war. This is unique because Vonnegut shows the readers a surprising use of violence that only people who experienced the war would know.

Roland Weary, an American soldier, is left with Billy in a Luxembourg forest after the confusion of a battle. Weary, who likes to think about torture and violence, talks to Billy about his favorite weapons and methods of torture. Even though most people might think that American soldiers are heroes, these two are somehow ridiculous in a way since Weary enjoys talking about torture and hurting each other. Suddenly, Weary asks Billy if he wants to feel the pain of torture.

The interesting part of this scene's violence is a one-to-one act of violence. Usually in a war novel, people would expect to use violence on a city or a group of people-- but in this novel, there are several parts where violence is used on one person. In the scene were Weary threatens Billy, it is very unexpected because there both Americans and they are suppose to be on the same side. "Weary laid the spikes along Billy's cheek, roweled the cheek with savagely affectionate restraint. 'How'd you like to be hit with this-hm? Hmmmmmmm?' (37)." Vonnegut uses this "unusual" type of violence to show the readers a different picture of war than that shown in the movies. As a former soldier, he can give the readers a perspective other authors can't give.

Violence can involve many different psychological and physical threats. The violence in Slaughter-House-Five was unusual, which captured the attention of the readers. The violence used in this novel was most often one character to another character.

//**Comments**//

I think the way you interpreted violence in the novel was very interesting and very understandable. In my essay, I interpreted violence in Slaughterhouse-Five as something mental that only people in the war would know, but you brought up a whole new idea of violence that can only be told by the ones who has been in a war and has experienced that form of violence. I also thought it was really interesting how you related violence to a form of which is not shared between opposite sides, but the same, to portray how violence can be used in various ways. I can clearly tell that you have read the book thoroughly and very good job on your "violence" essay! -Andrew Nogamoto

Compared to other essays about the Slaughterhouse-five novel, I think you clearly understood the meaning of violence. You even pointed out, specifically what kind of or type of violence was used in your novel. However, I find no connection to the book we read as a whole, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster, to compare to your novel. Rather than connecting to the book and applying, I think you were more into finding the "interesting" fact about how the author used violence. However, your essay really conveys the reader that you've put a lot of effort on searching the details! Also, the parentheses show be out of the quotation mark!^^ Other than that, nice job on your essay. - Jenice Lee 11C


 * Essay 5**

Blindness can have different meanings, but in a story, there is always a reason why characters are blind. In the novel __Slaughterhouse-Five__ by Kurt Vonnegut, main character Billy decides to be blind towards a negative past. This is not a physical blindness but something more like a willful blindness. Although Billy isn't physically blind, he does turn himself blind towards the past about the war.

When Billy arrives at Tralfamadore, an alien planet, and goes to the zoo, the crowds asks him questions. They believe there are six different type of living organisms and they were interested in Billy's life and appearance. Then Billy asks them a question, "How do you have such a peaceful planet?" The Tralfadorians stated that because they can see the past, present, and future for all human beings, they decided to accept the things the way they are.

While many authors' writings decide to look back into the past and find out what was wrong, this one tries to move on without questioning the past. As stated in __How to Read Literature Like a Professor__, there is a reason why a character is blind in a book. Being "blind" does not always have to be physical, it could be a case where a boy is blinded by love. As for this novel, Billy, the main character, decided to become blind in a willful way rather than physically. After learning from the Tralfamadorians that past doesn't solve anything for anyone, and the future nor past can't be changed, Billy learns to blind himself from the past.

Blindness can at point be somewhat a symbolism, and dependent on the instincts of the readers. A reader might think of a reason why the character is blinded, which no other readers had thought of. Thinking of the past in Slaughterhouse-Five never solves nor proves anything, which lead Billy not to think about the past and worry of what had happened.


 * //Comments//**

Sarah! How’s your break going? It’s terrible how we couldn’t meet up during the summer… but it’s okay, since we have English together! Anyways, I’ve always thought blindness as an important factor and symbol that’s included in literature, which is why I chose your last essay while reading through the five essays. I love how you’ve made the connection of blindness in a willful way and not in a physical way because I personally think many books express blindness in a more thematic way than literally making the characters go blind (one physical example could be Rochester in //Jane Eyre//…). It’s interesting how you’ve expressed Billy ‘blinding himself from the past’ while one could just simply say, 'he decided to only live towards the future and never the past.' This is another reason that I liked about your analysis because you were able to go deep down and find a different way to investigate your book to many themes. The description of the section in your book was easy to understand and I like how you’ve kept the flow and organization in introducing the story all the way to the analysis in the end. But there needs to be a quote from the book that you think is significant and an explanation of how it connects to //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//. If your quotation was the "how do you have such a peaceful planet?” make sure you mention the author and the page number in parenthesis next to the quote. And maybe the explanation going along with the quote, that I think is mentioned in the third paragraph, could be much easier to connect and understand if you organize and put the two middle paragraphs together. Other than some little grammatical mistakes, great connection and analysis! Love the ending and it kind of makes me want to read the book (not that I’m a big fan of reading…). Have a great remaining break and I can’t wait to see you on Tuesday!

- Ji Yoon Hyun

Hey Sarah, your choice of topic has intrigued my interest about blindness. Your essay has build up my knowledge about it. Through this essay I have learned the difference between physical blindness and spiritual blindness, thank you. Your essay is very well organized and the paragraphs are evenly distributed. The topic of your essay is well shown. But I think you should define some of the key terms that you used to describe the character's blindness for example “willfully” and “physically.” "Although Billy isn't physically blind, he does turn himself blind towards the past about the war" I think it is better to explain something about the war in the second paragraph where you summed up the summary rather than not explaining it at all because if you explained it than the reader could have infer the pain and the hardship of war which has caused his spiritual blindness. And finally you forgot to put the page number after the quote. Good Job! - Jungna Park-

Hey Sarah! I hope you are having a great summer. Well, after reading your essay about blindness, I was able to understand and interpret the possible different meanings blindness can have. Your idea was very clear through out the essay and how your main focus was on how blindness doesn’t always have to be something physical but can be something metaphorical. You explanation on the novel with the idea was well organized. However, I think you could’ve added more thought or interpretation about Foster’s idea about blindness to add more interpretations. Your essay still was organized in a very orderly matter, which helped me easier to understand your message, and actually helped it to express what you thought about the novel. One last improvement that might help is maybe an actual quote from the novel that you thought was important or was related to the idea you had in mind. Still overall your clear focus on your idea made the essay clear connected to Foster’s chapter very nicely. -Lauren Kang-


 * Comment 1**

Jin Kwon Essay #1 (Communion)

While I was reading through your three hundred word-essay, I understood that your thought on communion and my though on communion were similar. The communion you mentioned was about a family who stopped communicating due to a death in the family. In my book, though the example is not similar, it was about lacking communication. One thing I would like you to have done better would have to do with flow. If you would use a phrase to relate one paragraph to another would help the reader's understanding. Also, your use of vocabulary was somewhat repetitive, therefor would have helped if there were various words used.


 * Comment 2**

Soobin Bae Esay #1 (Journey)

Hi Soobin!

As I was reading through your introduction, it grabbed my attention right away because the way the sentence flowed together was very good. I also got the impression that you are an adventurous type, too. Well, you could have had worked more on the summary because compared to the other paragraphs, the second paragraph seems a little weak. What I understood from reading your essay was the importance of God's will. You stated, //"..his quest is to strengthen his faith and devotion to God"// which shows how important religion is in this novel. Lastly, it could have been better if you could strengthen the conclusion, because peronally, to me I could not find any strong relation to the essay topic. Overall, the work you have done was attention-grabbing, and the flow of the entire essay was beautiful.