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1) Why did Vonnegut choose to include a verse from "Away in a Manger" to start the novel? Is there anything significant here?
2) Why did Vonnegut choose to dedicate the book to two of the fictional characters who appear in the novel?
3) What do you make of the alternate title for the novel: The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death?
Give those things some thought and share your ideas here...
57 comments:
I believe that Vonnegut chose to include a verse from “Away in a Manger” to begin the novel so he could quickly and efficiently drive home the point that when this novel was written, religion still played an immense role in American society. No matter how hard people tried to eradicate its influence through efforts big or small, it always found a way back into everyday life. With Vonnegut’s inclusion of this verse, I feel that he was trying to portray the true significance of his beliefs versus the beliefs of society at large and how such a struggle would play out within a society reeling with turmoil amongst Civil Rights, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and the Vietnam War.
Vonnegut included a verse from "Away in a Manger" to symbolize religion and how it was a big part of the society. Vonnegut probably chose to dedicate the book to Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Muller because they play an important role in the making of this novel. The alternate title for the novel, The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death, gives the book a lot worse of a connotation than Slaughterhouse-Five. The alternative title makes the book seem more depressing, especially since it includes children. The actual title of the book, Slaughterhouse-Five, made me think of animals, and it was a lot less vivid.
Vonnegut chose to start the book off with a verse from "Away in a Manger" because he is using foreshadowing to show us that religion is going to play a big role in the book. The quote may have a deeper meaning to it once you read farther into the story and really get a feel for the theme of it. I think that Vonnegut dedicated this book to two of the fictional characters because on the first page, he states that these things that happened are true, only he changed the names. So whoever plays the characters of Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Muller are the ones who are being recognized. The author only wishes to keep their identities private. The alternative title, The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death makes the book seem like a murder story or makes the book seem scary and sad. Now that I have read a little bit of the story, I have realized that is not what it is about and Slaughterhouse-Five is a much better title for the book.
The choice to start the novel with a verse from "Away in a Manger" more than likely symbolizes Vonnegut's religious influences over the novel. The phrase "No crying He makes may also have a greater meaning later in the novel. My guess would be the idea that the character does not involve or bother to the world and environment the character experiences. The use of fictional characters of which the book is dedicated to more than likely refers to real people in the Vonnegut's life. I know from previous novels that often times when a character tells their war stories they change the names of characters for privacy and respect. Lastly, I believe the name "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death?" possibly refers to a theme to the novel. when I think back to reading All Quiet on the Western Front and I can recall that towards the end of the war, the armies had to resort to young children because they had exhausted that country's men. Perhaps these causes are similar in some way to being against children in war.
The beginnings of Slaughterhouse-Five were very peculiar, and were certainly significant. The first part, being the verse “The cattle are lowing/The Baby awakes/ But the little Lord Jesus/ No crying He Makes,” from the popular Christmas song “Away in a Manger,” is a tribute. To me, it tells a small, general story of war. The “cattle lowing” is the call to serve in a war, which leads to the young men (the baby awaking) to answer the call. Then the last two lines speak of how the Lord Jesus is at peace, just like the same young men who died as causalities of war. Dead men can’t cry about the pain and suffering they no longer feel. On a somewhat brighter note, Kurt Vonnegut dedicates his novel to two fictional characters, because they are symbols for real people he knew. He just did not want to reveal their names, so other than him, we as readers would not know the actual people which would protect them. Finally, my favorite part is the alternative title: The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death. It basically sums up Vonnegut’s perspective the war: Young men fighting because it’s their job to protect the country, but really it’s just children fighting a senseless war based on politics (like the crusades) and needlessly dying for it. It also elicits a strong emotional effect, because children typically symbolize innocence, and the thought of innocence dying makes people uncomfortable. The uncomfortable feeling produced by the alternative title also serves as foreshadowing for the darkness and inhumanity of the novel.
Vonnegut chose to include a verse from “Away in a Manger” to start the novel to really symbolize Vonnegut’s religious influences in our society. Religion has played a great role not only in American society for forever but the world as a whole, from the times of the Stone Age too no. Vonnegut chose to dedicate this novel to Mary O’Hare and Gerhard Muller because they play an immense role in making the novel what it is and carrying out the purpose of the novel. What I make of the alternative title for the novel “The Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death” is that it sums up the perspective of Vonnegut’s thoughts on the grueling, cruel, and evil war. Politics plays a bigger role in wars than anything else, and it often destroys many lives of the men who fight in them because it is the loyal thing to do.
I believe Vonnegut began the novel with a reference to "Away In A Manger" to represent the deeper concept of war while also displaying the religious aspects of the time period. The cattle represent the soldiers going to war, the baby represents the rest of the world waking up to the issues at hand, and baby Jesus represents the men who have lost their lives fighting for their country. Vonnegut chose to dedicate the book to two fictional characters because they represented real people in his life that he respected. The characters are symbols of these people. Lastly, the alternate title for the novel seems much more... Intense. "A Children's Crusade" depicts an image in my head that I do not want to see. I think bringing the idea of children and war into the same thought is quite unsettling. The second part of the alternative title, "A Duty Dance With Death", makes me think of someone coming extremely close with death several times, but in the end death always wins, right?
Meghan gore
I think he used the alternative title to appease Mary O'Hare. She was so flustered when she found out he was writing a book about war and she automatically assumed that he would be like all the others who glamorize war. What she didn't realize is that they are on the same page.
I believe that Vonnegut dedicated the book to two fictional characters because the book is written about past experiences. The two characters, Mary O’ Hare and Gerhard Miller, could be inspired from people that Vonnegut knew. The novel is based off of Vonnegut’s imagination and past experiences and so the two fictional characters represent people from Vonnegut’s real life that he is dedicating the book to. As for the alternative titles, Vonnegut comparing the war to the children's crusade. Vonnegut compares the soldiers from World War II with the children who were part of the children's crusade. The soldiers from War World II were kids drafted into a war. Like the Children's Crusade most of the kids ended up dying like the soldiers of World War II.
Perhaps Vonnegut chose to include that verse from Away in a Manger to foreshadow that religion is a key factor in many of the characters' lives. I think Vonnegut chose to dedicate the book to Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Muller because they had the biggest influence on him. After reading the first chapter, he changes the name of his book to Slaughterhouse-Five because of Mary, and Gerhard tells him about living under Communism and being a prisoner of Americans. The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death seems very dark. It makes me picture children dying and serving in war. It would have been much more shocking to people if he would have kept it that name, causing more controversy than this book already has done.
I personally believe that Vonnegut chose to include a verse from "Away in a Manger" to portray his religious beliefs and also the beliefs of many people of that particular time period. He chose to dedicate the book to two fictional characters because he wanted to use these characters to display the influences made on his life by real people. He showed how his life was affected by real people in his life by using fictional characters in his novel. The alternate title for this novelThe Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death has two different connotations to me. The fact that the title includes children, it almost seems childish, like it's not really a big deal. When a read it a little bit closer, I realize it is very dark. Like children forced to fight as soldiers in a war.
I believe that Vonnegut decided to use a verse from "Away in a Manger" to symbolize the fact that through the entire novel, the horrid situations are being described, but it almost seems as if little emotion is shown by the characters. Also, I assure that he included this verse to express his belief in religion. Vonnegut most likely dedicated the novel to the two characters from Slaughterhouse-Five to exemplify how important these characters were to him. The alternate title, "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death", has strong, negative connotations. First of all, it symbolizes the fact that war, as a whole, is life-threatening and very risky, hence the saying "Duty Dance with Death." Secondly, "The Children's Crusade" kind-of explains that very young men fought in these wars and lost their lives early.
I believe that Vonnegut was portraying religion as being apart of his and many other people lives during that time period by including a verse from "Away in the Manger". I also believe once we read further into the novel, the verses will start to symbolize part of the war he talks about in the novel. Vonnegut chose to dedicate the book to Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Muller because the book is based off of real life, so they are real people that helped develop the novel and influenced his life. The alternate title for this novel, The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death is very dark and deep to me. I believe it is Vonnegut's way of grabbing people's attention by bringing into to focus that the boys in the war are just kids and they are dancing with death each day they are on the battlefield because they never know when their last day is.
I think that Vonnegut chose to include a verse from "Away in a Manger" to show that even though the events that take place are terrible, the events are being blown off like they are nothing. Like they don't really matter. It also shows his views on religion. Vonnegut also incorporated Gerhard Muller and Mary O'Hare because the book is based off of real life events. So these characters were real people.
I think Vonnegut included this verse as a representation of God's view of war. We stir awful stuff up (the cattle are lowing), and God notices it (The Baby awakes), but he doesn't really do anything about it. He lets us work it out (But the little Lord Jesus/No crying He makes). Also, he dedicates the book to characters because of what these characters stand for. They both wish for a better world. Müller says in his postcard to O'Hare that he hopes they'll meet again "in a world of peace." Mary O'Hare hates Vonnegut coming to their house because she's afraid that he'll write another war-praising gun-toting novel. Both characters represent viewpoints that he wants to use this novel to get across. Finally, the alternate title deals with the nature of war. The Children's Crusade was a disastrous idea from the start. Even if it turned out well for the Europeans, much innocence would have been ruined. The second half talks about how war can sometimes be necessary, but the ways in which we perpetrate it are unnecessary. War is our duty, but we turn it into a dance.
Vonnegut had very specific intentions when he started to write this book. I believe he chose a verse from "Away in a Manger" to out like his story and what he all wanted to talk about. He wanted to talk about how the people were drafted into this war. A war children had to fight in; the ones who had answered the call. He wanted to show that they were at peace with this, with their death. I think he's going to use this verse throughout the novel to move the story along. Vonnegut dedicates the book to two fictional characters, because they were real people that helped him during and after the war, but he wanted to protect their names. Lastly, the alternative title for this book, The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance. Vonnegut was thinking of naming the book this, to symbolize the entire war. The war was young men, practically children, fighting a bloody, senseless war. A war over politics, similar to what crusades were from history. The young men though it was their duty to fight this war and protect their country, so they danced with death in order to fill that duty. Vonnegut thought about naming the book this to really show what the war was like. He didn't want to glorify it, or make it seem glamorous. He wanted to show the dirty truth of the war.
I believe that Vonnegut included the verse from “Away in the Manger” was to highlight the importance of religion and how much it has impacted him as well as the world. The verse symbolizes tranquility and peace on Earth, while on the other hand war a gruesome act of aggression and hatred that ultimately leads to the loss of lives. Comparing the two of these helps Vonnegut emphasize how bad was truly for him and his fellow soldiers. With this he dedicates his novel to two fictional characters whom were men that had fought with him during the war. As for the alternate title, “A Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death” would sum up Vonnegut’s perception on war; a place where children were sent to dance through the shots fired on the war field and hope that they live to see another day.
My question on including this verse is this: how did Vonnegut come to the conclusion that a Christmas carol would go hand-in-hand with a war story? There are plenty of other songs, let alone hymns to reflect religious attributes. Many quotes could have been fitting as well. This is why I believe religion has nothing to do with it.
Unlike most of the interpretations made above, I don't contribute the verse from "Away in the Manger" to Vonnegut's religion. Of course, the lyrics are from the second verse of a Christmas carol, but it's the very part that shows a hint of godliness in "Lord Jesus." Different from other babies, Jesus held his composure. I take this to mean that Vonnegut is nudging to the imperfection of humanity. Maybe, he wants to display a life without bias. Maybe, he is foreshadowing his own stoic exterior. Maybe, he believes emotion is foolish. Vonnegut could also simply be searching for a peace as such as one on that day where there was no room at the inn.
I believe Vonnegut used a verse from “Away in a Manger” to start the novel to show innocence. The baby awaking symbolizes the young kids who were sent off to war, and just beginning their lives. The line “no crying he makes” seemed to me to symbolize the people who wanted to fight in the war, and volunteered without complaint, not knowing how bad it would get (the Holocaust). I thought the alternate title described the book so far perfectly. Many of the people fighting during WW2 were drafted, which means many of them were probably 18, 19 or 20. They were still kids and being forced to go overseas and “Dance with Death.” One example is the two scouts that left Billy and Weary and ended up getting shot, they danced with death by just walking somewhere. This title could be used to describe almost any war.
I think that Vonnegut uses the verse from "Away in a Manger" for two reasons. First being to show the significance of religion and its power at the time. Second, it is often told to us as children so I believe he used it also to show how the "men" fighting to protect the country are really just children. This has a lot to do with the alternative title, “A Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death”. These children don't so much know what they're doing they are just doing what they think they're supposed to, and that's fighting (dying) for their country. It also connects with the character of Mary O'Hare when she gets upset on how she believes he will portray the war. She doesn't think her babies or anyone elses' babies should be fighting in a war and he agrees to call his book "The Children's Crusade".
I believe that Vonnegut used the phrase from “Away in a Manger” to symbolize the meaning of religion and sacrifice. The young men are put into these wars to risk themselves and stand up for their country, and support the religions, beliefs, and political actions of their country. Vonnegut also used fictional characters as a couple of his main characters to protect the identity of those he was writing about from his real life experiences. The alternate title: “Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death” really explains the meaning of a war well. Many young men are sent into battle and are killed or badly wounded every single day as a duty to their country. However, in the case of this book, Vonnegut sets the mood that most wars are very unnecessary and only cause bloodshed.
I believe that the use of the lyrics from away in the manger represent Billy Pilgrim's predicament as his part in the novel is introduced. The line, "the cattle are lowing" makes me think of the way that he entered the war while it had already been going on for years. "The baby awakes" brings to mind Billy's acceptance of the war and his sudden ability to become 'unstuck from time.' Although the last line from Away In The Manger shows how Billy is in a rough place (being able to see a future such as his could not be easy), but he puts on a strong front and stays mostly sane his entire life. I think Vonnegut's reason for dedicating it to Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Müller because both characters show different prospectives on the subject of war. Mary is clearly from an anti-war sentiment but Gerhard was a prisoner of the Americans who saw the opposite of the narrator. He dedicates it to them both because they are representations of two familiar topics in the book. Mary shows us the evil in war; she sheds light on the idea of it being a children's crusade. On the otherhand, Gerhard is the driving force of the story (pun intended). As his main importance is that of a taxi driver that brought him back to the slaughterhouse,he is symbolically the key that allows Vonnegut to complete an idea that he had been hashing out for years. So why not dedicate it to him? It would be like an award winning actress not thanking all of the people who helped her win the Oscar. In response to the alternate tite, I believe that it does hold true to the overall moral of the entire war, but I do not think that it applies greatly to the focus of the novel. Yes, world war II was fought by the young, and yes, Billy Pilgrim was indeed young when he joined the fight, but the book doesn't focus on the lives of the youth. The book focuses on one life, that of Mr. Pilgrim, which is why it is meerly an alternative title and not the one that most are familiar with.
I think the reason Vonnegut included the lines from "Away in a Manger" because of the influence of religion on society at the time. Another possible reason is that after the main character of the book experiences horrible things during the war, he questions his on religious beliefs. As for the alternate title of the book, I believe has historical relevance in that the Children's Crusades were actually an event. "The Children's Crusade:" portion could reference the fact that the majority of soldiers were no older than 18 years old, barely adults and could be seen as children. "A Duty Dance with Death" could refer to these kids being part of the draft, and their military service being their duty to their country.
I believe the verse from "Away In A Manager" was used to make the reader aware of how religion was going to be in this novel and the ways it affects society in the novel- whether it be the way decisions are governed or how the main character doubts his beliefs through the book. I think the alternate title to the book is more eye-opening, because I believe it refers to just how young the men in the war were. Many that were enlisted were barely eighteen when they were shipped off, making them still children in various people's eyes. It really shows just how life-altering war can be for anyone, no matter how young or old they are. I also found it extremely interesting to see that the novel had been dedicated to two of the fictional characters, because it was something very abnormal. As a heavy reader, I'm used to seeing novels dedicated to children, siblings, parents, spouses, etc. but never the characters themselves. I think that the author could have done this for many reasons, one being that he was dedicating it to them for helping them shape the story. However, on the first page of the book, the author says that this is all true stories but he changed the names of the people. So, I think he may be dedicating the novel to the people whom the characters were based off of without revealing their true identity.
I think that Vonnegut picked "Away in a Manger" to start the novel because it's very Christian and probably something he heard often as child, a song that Billy would have also heard his mother play in some church or another. The song also connects to Billy because like baby Jesus, he never cries out loud about the war. Like many veterans the war is something he keeps locked away in himself, it's a pain not easily shared. Despite the casualties of war, it’s romanticized by our culture. We make this fuss (think cattle) about how glamorous war is, when really all it does is destroys. Lives are ruined, people are killed, and cultures ripped apart. I think that Vonnegut used “Away in a Manger” to tell us that the survivors of war know that it’s no good and are “awakened” to that fact, but people still think it should be a first option for everything, and solves all problems.
Vonnegut chooses to dedicate his book, a denouncement of war, to Mary O’Hare because she also felt that it’s wrong to glorify war, a thought that Vonnegut obviously agrees with because he writes a whole novel about the ugly truths of war. He also dedicates the book to Gerhard Müller, the taxi cab driver who took him to the Dresden slaughterhouse. He sends Vonnegut a christmas card, a gesture that stands out against the brutality of the rest of the book. Even though these two men were on opposites (communism vs. democracy, German vs. American) their sympathy for each other is really touching.
The alternative title, The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death, make a lot more sense than the current one does. While talking to Mary O’Hare, it’s pointed out to us that the men being drafted are only children. Wars are fought by children all over the world throughout history, and is made to seem like it’s their job to kill these evil strangers, when in fact it isn't their war at all.
I believe the alternate title "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death" is to get people to see just how war is. It gets the readers attention more than the real title. "Slaughterhouse-five" sounds like it could be just another fictional horror story and isn't too exciting while the alternative title gets your attention and makes you think. It puts more of an emphasis on how bad war is. Many of the soldiers were inexperienced and naive when it comes to war like many children are when it comes to the real world. Most of the soldiers were very young and fresh out of school, and very few had families of their own. The alternative title also shows that it was the "children's" duty to go to war and "dance with death", also showing many died in the war or came very close to it. Personally I like the alternate title rather than the actual title.
I believe that Vonnegut used the old christian song "Away in a Manger" to foreshadow the role of religion in the novel and also to memorialize the lives of the children he knew where lost were lost in the war or the young men who were soldiers in it that he knew were too young to die. I think Vonnegut dedicated his anti-war book to the two fictional characters, Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Müller, because of what both wanted, peace. As for the alternate title of the book, The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death, the reasoning behind that name was to try and portray the war as senseless and gruesome as it really was. Trying not to glamorize and make everything seem heroic.
As I started of this novel, I was very confused as to what was going on. I had to reread paragraphs several times until I understood it. As a furthered myself through the novel some more, I had a better understanding of it. It all came together and I somewhat enjoyed this novel.
I believe Vonnegut dedicated his book to two fictional characters because they are the ones who had impacted his views on the war. Gerhard Muller represents faith in a messed up world. He makes Vonnegut see the positive in things and a better side. Gerhard Muller tells him about his own experience; and shows him the positive and better side of it and he agrees with it and changes his views. Mary O' Hare could be the embodiment of opposition to war and sensitivity. She is the taxi driver who tells Vonnegut about his experiences with communism. Mary O’ Hare gives Vonnegut a new impression on communism as well as Muller did. She makes him think about how war ages and changes people. Both Gerhard Muller and Mary O’ Hare impacted Vonnegut’s opinion of the war he fought in.
I think Vonnegut used a verse from "Away in a Manger" to show that throughout the novel religion will be a key factor, even though it may not always be as obvious. I think the actions that are going to happen in the novel will derive from a deeper religious background.
I thoroughly loved Gwens understanding behind the quote and the way she saw it. It makes you think, reading everyone else's comments and seeing how different they interpret things.
The main reason that I believe Vonnegut chose to include the verse from "Away in a Manger" was to make it very clear that religion played a key role in society back then and is going to be very relevant throughout the story. I think he dedicated the book to the two characters because they play such an important role in the novel. I am not a fan of the alternative title, it is much less appealing to the ears. The though of children dancing with death is saddening and Slaughterhouse Five is much more open and dangerous sounding.
Well, I agree with the way Nathan said how Vonnegut used the verse from "Away in a manger" by saying "religion played a key role in society back then..." In his post. Mainly because throughout my years in high school I have had many history classes and learned much about religion and how it impacts society. Big or small religion always leaves an imprint on society, especially during periods of war. General populations look to religion as a hope to protect family and friends. As for question number two I feel he included them because for one it makes you think why? why did he just say that? so you keep going looking for an answer as well as the taxi driver drove him to his old friends house and the wife provided hospitality.
I believe that Vonnegut included a verse from "Away in a Manger" to introduce to the reader the idea that religion was going to be a strong topic throughout the book. I think he wanted to make a point that religion was still relevant and important no matter what the efforts were to push it away. I believe Vonnegut chose to dedicate the book to two fictional characters in the novel because the real characters that they represent played significant roles in his life. I feel that those two people may have impacted him in great moments. As far as the alternative title goes I don't care for it. I feel as if he should have left it alone , why fix something that isn't broken?
I think that Slaughterhouse-Five was dedicated to two fictional characters because they are a tie from the fictional story to the true events of the novel. Maybe Vonnegut is dedicating the book to the idea of the fictional bridge between his imagination and reality. Vonnegut also may have dedicated this book to two non-existent people because he is dedicating the novel to the idea that each character represents in the story. Mary is the reason he makes specific remarks about the fact that he is not celebrating the war experience by telling him not to act like he was an adult loving the war when he was enlisted. Muller is the driver who takes them to the real slaughterhouse, and had a life story similar to Vonnegut’s by both being prisoners of war. Also, Vonnegut likes this character because he makes a statement, hoping they will meet again “if the accident will.” This really emphasizes the idea of possibility, fate, and chance. (I know you find these things out after you begin reading, but it supports my idea here.) Essentially, since these people aren't real, the author may be dedicating the book to what they each represent; which is anti-war ideals, fate, and chance.
The alternative title that Mary and Billy collaborate on is marvelous. The new title they create is much more understandable and repayable to the plot overall. Mary’s feeling created a huge impact on how the book was portrayed because of how angry she was when she heard Billy was writing a novel on war. Mary says “you’ll pretend you’re men instead of babies” (Vonnegut 14), what many men would do to create a heroic portrayal of themselves creating yet another glorious story about war. Mary is angered immensely because war continues to be glorified and creates a different definition of hero. I am not saying that the men and woman who fight for our country are not heroic, of course they are. Mary is saying that war is portrayed as peaches and cream. In the movies and books war is seen as tough men against other tough men, but in reality they are frightened as a child would be. This is a perfect alternative title for the novel because it shows that the soldiers of the war were still children, some never being able to grow up and still only in their teens.
In the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, in the opening pages, Vonnegut, the author, dedicates his novel to Mary O'Hare as well as Gerhard Muller. As it turns out, these two people are not real life persons but rather fictional characters in Vonnegut's novel. Personally I believe Vonnegut chose to do so for one of two reasons. My first theory is that these characters are not mere representations of people but rather Vonnegut's thoughts of past war experiences. By dedicating his novel to these characters, or ideas, Vonnegut is addressing as well as giving credit to them for helping him write his novel as well as formulate ideas about life. As for my second theory, I believe the characters could actually represent people who are, or are at least similar to said character. It is very possible that Vonnegut either wanted to keep the identities of these characters unknown so he altered their names and some characteristics or he wanted to hint to those people the impact they had on him for writing this novel without anyone's direct knowledge. Vonnegut could have many other reasons for dedicating his novel to fictional characters but I believe these are two of the more likely ones. It might even be both.
The verse from "Away in a Manger" and the alternate title "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death" are pointing towards religion. Which actually makes me want to read it more. Religion in books and movies adds a whole other dimension to the story and gives depth to things that normally wouldn't have any depth.
Going off of number two, I think that he dedicated the book to two of the fictional characters because he was so attached to the characters.
I didn’t think the people he dedicated his book to were actually fictional. In the first paragraph of the first page he states that he changed all the names and I assumed that applied to Mary and the Dresden taxi driver. I realize that what they do in the book may be fictional but I think these people actually existed. At any rate, I can easily see why it is dedicated to Mary. She felt that wars were encouraged by the way people glorify them and he agreed and then promised if he finished it, it would be more of an anti-war book. I’m not sure why it is also dedicated to the Dresden taxi driver. So far it seems to me that he has no huge significance to the book or the author’s life. Maybe he will have a bigger part later in the book and I will begin to understand as I go along.
Gonna disagree with mat up there. on both of his points. the alternative title was because they were teenagers who were fighting in world war two. the title is referred in the book by a British officer in Dresden when he sees the american soldiers without their facial hair and says that they are children. and the other thing i disagree with mat on is that most of the characters in his book were real, he just changed the names so the characters he dedicated the book to were real people but it was codded slightly for his own humor.
I believe that Vonnegut choose to include a verse from “Away in a Manger” to show the similarities between the young men that were just barely old enough to do things on their own, leave the comfort of their homes, and to fight in a war started by other people, many of them sacrificing their lives. That was almost like when baby Jesus was sent to earth and die as a young man for the problems created by other people. I believe that Vonnegut chose to dedicate the book to Mary O’Hare because she relates to many people out there that agreed those boys were just boys and not fit to fight in a war. She was probably made into a fictional character after Vonnegut talked to others who felt the same way. Gerhard Mueller was a little different, but he gives the opposite perspective of the war the side many of us don’t hear. Mueller is also an interesting character as a taxi driver who also just happened to be at Dresden when Billy Pilgrim was is an interesting way to show that you could have a connection with anyone and how weird and connected we all are. I think the alternate title would be a good title if the story was told from Mary O’Hare’s point of view or someone with the same lines of thinking as her or if the story was just about the war, but since it bounces from past to present the title does not seem to be the right fit.
Honestly, when i read the famous Christmas carol i thought to myself that i really had no idea what it meant or why Vonnegut decided to put that verse at the beginning of the book. I decided to research it a bit and i won't give anything away, but, in chapter 9 the reason Vonnegut included that verse in finally revealed and it has something to do with the fact that Billy Pilgrim cries himself to sleep, just like the verse states "no crying he makes." It was relieving to finally know the answer to why the verse was included and i'm happy i looked it up! I believe that Kurt dedicated the novel to Mary because he agrees with her that the harsh reality and cruelness of war needs to be expressed to the public. I'm not exactly sure why he dedicated the book to the taxi driver, maybe just out of sympathy. The title, "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death," resembles the actual Children's crusade which was a historical event and also an apparent war screw up. Which resembles Kurt's view on war. The Duty Dance With Death is supposed to show that Vonnegut came close to near-death multiple times throughout his time in the war, as did many others fighting for freedom.
Vonnegut choose to include the verse from “Always in a Manger” to not only show a little of religion that is put in war but also the fact that these men being sent to fight are still children. The author picked two characters ,Mary o’Hare and Gerald Müller, they both played an important part in his making of the book. Mary made him promise he wasn't going to glorify what war was like and make it fanciable. She was also the reason the novel alternate title is The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death? because it was to prove her that his novel he was creating wasn't a glorified spectacular war book that makes children run to sign up.
I believe the alternative ending for the novel was appropriate because it corresponded to Mary O'Hare's link between children and the war & how Vonnegut's intention to publish a story describing events of the war in a way promotes the subject to the future generations of the America and how Hollywood over glorifies it. I think that Vonnegut dedicated the novel to two of its fictional characters in order to shed a more positive light. Since the novel is filled with cruelty and gruesome moments, dedicating the novel and its contents to two of the characters that each had a great significance in the story provided a more positive atmosphere.
This novel is challenging, yet manageable in its complexity. It was difficult to keep up with at first but as I kept reading, it got easier and easier as I passed through the chapter. Vonnegut chose to use the verse from "Away in the Manger" to foreshadow a future event. It represents that religion played a key role in this time period and still does. He decides to dedicate the novel to fictional characters Mary O'Hare and Gerhard Muller because they both symbolize important people that he knew and respected their ideas enough that he made them into characters in this novel. Finally, the alternate title for the novel, "A Children's Crusade", is very disturbing. Both Slaughterhouse Five and Children's Crusade have some negative connotation, but the involvement of the word children makes the alternate seem even more cruel.
I think Vonnegut chose to use a verse from “Away In A Manger” at the beginning of the book because he is going to use religion a lot during this novel. I think in his discussion of war, he will use a lot of religious references and relate a lot of personal choices and sacrifices to religion. I think he dedicated the book to two fictional characters because those were actual people that meant a lot to him in his life, but he just doesn’t want us to know their real names, so he just made up fake names for them, but they are actually real people that had a big impact on his life. The alternate title for the book “A Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death” is actually his opinion of what war is. It is just scared little children fighting for their country because that’s all they know. They were raised to know that they were going to fight for their country, and so they did it. They didn’t know any different.
Vonnegut opened the book with “Away in a Manger” as a foreshadow of the importance of religion back when the book was written and when the stories actually took place. He dedicates this book to the two people that convinced him to write the book. Gerhard Müller took him back to Dresden to see the slaughterhouse that he once lived at, and sent him a Christmas card all the way from Germany. When he told Mary O’Hare that he was going to write a book about war, she is scared that he will glorify the war and is very angry with him. He promises her that he will not glorify the war, but instead show the struggles of young men thrown into a life-or-death situation, and he promises that he will name the book ‘The Children’s Crusade’. ‘The Children’s Crusade’ represents the young men that are barely men being thrown into war to basically die with not much hope of surviving.
I believe the author begins the novel with "Away in a Manger" to show that the book will use religion throughout the novel to get his points across. I think he is using the verse to foreshadow proceeding events. I think he dedicated the book to two fictional characters to hide the real names of people who impacted his life, the names remain secret but he will always know the true meaning and what they really meant to him. Lastly, the alternate title used for the book "A Children;s Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death" is his opinion on war. Young children are basically tricked into fighting for their country because they don't know any better.
Vonnegut used "Away in a Manger" to open the novel because it shows how religion is going to be used throughout it. I think that he is going to relate a lot of deaths, sacrifices, and conflicts to religion in some sort of way. The two fictional characters most likely represent two people that were very close to him at some point in his life but he is keeping their real names hidden from the readers. "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death" is his opinion of war and is basically young men fighting and being thrown into war because that's all that they were taught to do!
I believe that Vonnegut dedicated the book to fictional characters because of who they represented, not exactly who the were. He dedicated the book to Mary O'Hare, because she represented the worried mothers who didn't want their "babies" to go die in a war. I'm sure that he sympathizes with her because he was young when he went in. He partly wrote the book to show the evils of wars in an effort to keep those kids out of them. He dedicated the book to Gerhard Muller because he too was a prisoner of war and Kurt can directly empathize with those people. He also dedicated it to Gerhard because he represented the natives of Dredsen and other places devastated by war. Vonnegut has seen the toll it has taken on them and wrote the book to tell of that horrible event.
The significance of the quote from "away from the manger" was to foreshadow the significance of religion throughout the novel. I believe the author dedicated the novel to the two fictional characters because he was fascinated by them. The two alternate title makes the book seem like tasks that someone should not be involved in. It's because children should not be on a crusade. Also, it shouldn't be your duty to die.
I believe that Vonnegut used "away in a Manger" to begin the novel because it foreshadows events that will happen later in the novel and shows all of the religion involved. I think he dedicated the two fictional characters to keep the real names of the people a secret because they were so close to him and were such a big impact on his life. Lastly, the alternate title used for the book "A Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death" is his life experiences and opinions on war and how the young adults are tricked into fighting for their country.
Vonnegut included a verse from "Away in a Manger" to show that religion will be frequently appearing throughout the novel. He chose to dedicate the book to the two characters, Marry O'Hare and Gerhard Müller, obviously not there real names, but the fictional characters represent people that affected Vonnegut's life and those people knew who they were even after the fake names. The alternate title, "The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death" accurately paints the lives of young, scared adults like Vonnegut.
Religion is a big part of war and I believe that is why Vonnegut added a verse from "Away in a Manger". Religion is there for people when nothing else is. Vonnegut talks a lot about religion in the novel, having "Away in a Manger" foreshadow what is to come.
I think its interesting how Vonnegut dedicated the book to two fictional characters. I think it gives the first chapter a little more significance.
The two fictional characters dedicated by Vonnegut, Billy and Weary, are important people. These men, partly fictional or not, influenced his life during the war times to really think about the really dark side of it. As if there's much of a bright side, but who truly experienced the awful side effects and outcomes. He analyzed everything to the point of their "end".
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