Cook's Clou: The Slaughter Writer

In honor of my completion of the book, while it has been a blast to mess with movie titles and compare them to this story, I would like to close with Ewen McGregor's performance in The Ghost Writer. Similarly to that of Vonnegut, he must presents readers with helpful information about a Prime Minister, even in the face of tragedy....so long....and enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Theme of Simplicity

I guess Vonnegut kept his promise after all, the book ended just like he said, with the bird asking, "poo-tee-weet?" This is fitting because just as it is referenced in that first chapter, there is nothing smart to say about massacre. I feel a sense that a central theme of even something simple as a bird talking, can seem as sane a the talk of war and killing other human beings in the process. Similarly to this bird though, Vonnegut knows that somebody has to attempt to fill the void that silence leaves behind in the wake of tragedy. Even though sometimes words are meaningless and do nothing for us, they too, like us, were able to survive mass incinerations. Vonnegut proves that through knowledge and literature, something beautiful in awareness, can arrive through such pain and anquish, to inform people of the dire consequences that war brings. That is the pureness that this story brings, and that is what makes Vonnegut a phenomenal writer. A hero or a villian isn't required to inform people of danger, just a clever way of presenting information...even in something as simple as jumping through time or dreams or whatever your final verdict was in finishing this great book....this is jimmy cook signing off...thanks for tuning in!

Cook's Clou: Darth Slaughter

Sometimes victory includes our own defeat...this is best true in the final of the Star Wars movies, when Darth Vader kills the emperor. He is able to achieve victory and save his son, but also ends the empire he worked so hard to build, and essentially brings his body to the point of death. Either way, this piece seems to fit well with what Billy is going through right now...enjoy!

Chapter 9: Symbolism in Death

Despite his own survival in the war, Billy has experienced a symbolic death that reaches even those who have survived like him. This death has to do with being relevant and still being alive in the world. This innocent death is in memory of all of the other kids and babies of these most recent Children’s Crusades. With all of this included, Billy hasn't quite felt the void that victory brings. The symbol of the two Germans describing the horrible state of the horses pulling Billy's coffin, allows him to understand that he is not able to avoid the present fact,  that being his victory also contains his defeat within. This so called happiest moment of his life, is quickly interrupted by tears of burden...Billy just can't catch a break...stay tuned!

Cook's Clou: Slaughter Recall

This next reference is dedicated to the release of Total Recall! While I haven't seen this movie yet, I'm sure it will be an epic one! The short premise of it is trying to figure out what is real and not real...which is basically the ultimate goal behind this book....can't wait to see it!...Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Internal Conflict

This chapter reveals the internal struggles that Billy has expierenced as the novel wears on. Specifically speaking, at this 18th wedding anniversary, a Barbershop Quartet sings at his wedding, which strangely drives Billy almost mad. Nobody is quite sure what happened to him or why he is so distrubed, but the next time they preform, it causes Billy to have to retire to his room. After walking in on his son in the bathroom,(who has a guitar on his lap while on the toilet,) Billy not only realizes that he really doesn't know his son that well, but also tries to figure out why the Quartet troubled him so badly. At this moment, Billy realizes that the faces of the singing Quartet, reminds him of the faces of those who died helplessly back on the night Dresden was destroyed. I guess it gives Billy a new opening into what stand point his mind is in; the sight of four wide-mouthed men symbolises the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Maybe Billy is finally accepting the world around him, and becoming sane once again...stay tuned!

Cook's Clou: InSlaueption

In commemoration of the fact that Billy's dreams may indeed be reality, we all need to see a film that is equally as confusing as the Slaughter House...INCEPTION!!!!!!!! One of my favorite movies of all-time, based on being in a dream within a dream within a dream,(crazy right?) anyway enjoy the movie cut-down to its most important parts in 10 minutes...but the ending still gets me everytime!....enjoy!

Chapter 7: Theme of Principle and Dreams

This chapter is where I finally start to feel effects of what it is like in the concentration camps. I can't even fathom what it would be like being a prisoner of war, and finally tasting a little bit of nutrients for the first time in lord knows how long. I feel like we really earn a piece of what Billy's story really is about; all these events that he speaks of have already happened, however I do not believe he is jumping through time. Despite all the speculation and all the confusion this book has given me, I feel that he is actually dreaming. I don't mean dreaming in the sense that all of this stuff is fake, but rather he is recalling these different memories sparatically while he is asleep. That is the conclusion that I draw as I cruise through Chapter 7, this is all just one big dream of memories if you will...this stuff is getting easier to understand...but we aren't out of the woods yet...stay tuned!

Cook's Clou: Slaughter Island

Sorry for the brief language used in this scene, however I felt that since we are all adults here, its should be easy to stomach, especially considering what we have read so far in the book. This movie, "Shutter Island," constantly jumps the line between what is real and what is fake. This is what many of Leonardo Dicaprio's movies during 2010 were about. Much like Edward Daniels, Billy is struggling with what is real, and what is fake....as am I....enjoy!

Chapter 6: Narrative Technique of Bibilical Proportions

The references in this book continue to amaze me, specifically the way that they quickly relate an early event in chapter 1, (that being with Lot's wife and the opening of the Gideon Bible.) I feel like it was of great importance for Billy to read the tale of  Sodom and Gomorrah, because in a way it seems like the ongoing war is somewhat similar to the bible story. This use of knowledge shows us that Billy must avoide being curious about the war, and simply except it for something that must happen. This delusion of not needing to worry calms his nerves in a way, and overall makes it easier on him. Despite all of this, I feel like the ulitmate goal of the narration is to make it known to readers that the narrator is not Billy, but rather some type of overseer, that wants us to also realize Billy's fate is undetermined. This narration, which prior to all of this presented itself as a sense of outward power and helpfulness, now forms a gap between readers and the story itself. Through the power of this gap, the narration is able to confuse our reasoning of what is true and believable....I'm not really sure what to believe either...stay tuned!

Cook's Clou: Slaughter House Kind

Arguably the scariest movie ever made, this is the best comparison to Aliens and trying to warn people of what has happened I can think of. It might not be the best comparison piece, but I think it still works....what do you think?

Chapter 5: Acceptance and Understanding of Time

Over the course of this chapter, Billy finally decides to give into the ways of the Aliens. They believe that free will is non-existent, and that every thing happens only one specific way, and they can only occur that way. I guess this adds more of a logical standpoint to the ongoings of Chapter 4,(which makes my little freakout seem more and more silly,) While he is on display in the Zoo, Billy describes to others the concept of free will, and how it is irrelevant and futile. I also find it ironic that both German Soldiers and the Aliens both give him the same response to his question of "why me?" I must say I really am starting to worry about the true sanity of Billy. Are these aliens real, or is he just being dillusional?....stay tuned!

Cook's Clou: Billy Potter

Billy, I will never understand why you willingly decided to have yourself abducted again, but the best comparison I can think of from a cinematic stand point, is the final Harry Potter movie, when Harry knows he is going to die, so he gives himself up to Lord Voldemort...try to hold back your tears...enjoy!

Chapter 4: Irony

"Only on Earth is there any talk of free will."

Alright here is the part of this book that I still don't understand. He already knew he was going to be taken by the aliens...because it has already happened to him before...yet despite all this, instead of doing something else like oh idk ENJOYING YOUR OWN DAUGHTER's WEDDING!?! But no, instead let's just go outside and wait for the aliens to come abduct us again. This literally made me throw the book across the room, above you can see the dramitization of my frustration(hope you find it funny, and dont worry the book is okay!) Seriously though, when the aliens tell him that he is stuck in the moment and he has no free will, I find it very ironic, because he never had to go back out there and go throught the abduction again, he could have just gone to sleep or stayed at home. Instead, he decides to go through it all again...I don't think I'll ever fully grasp...oh Billy..what are we going to do with you...stay tuned!

Cook's Clou: Billy's Beautiful Mind

This is another fine cinematic comparison to the story of Billy Piligrim; A Beautiful Mind. This was one of my mother's favorite movies, and its an honor to be able to use it to relate to a piece of literature. Hopefully something like this doesn't happen to Billy, especially due to his claim that he was abducted by Aliens...in honor of the way it seems Billy is losing his mind, here is a clip from the "A Beautiful Mind", Russell Crowe at his finest...enjoy!

Chapter 3: Illusions

The continued points of Chapter 3 involve some of that which happened in Chapter 2. That sentence in itself is about as confused as Billy must feel, as his story continues. He still is presented to us as someone who has free will, when in reality its all just an illusion. He is simply a spastic time traveler who has no way of controlling what time period he enters in his life. This and the hopelessness of the ongoing war, start to take their toll on Billy as this chapter wears on. He is featured weeping,(not crying, but weeping,) to the point where it seems like he couldn't possibly stop. Despite the fact that it seems at times Billy could be losing his mind, the realistic details of his stories, are enough to keep me glued to the pages, and still believe these stories are true. Even if he does "see" and reference Adam and Eve in the chapter, I still believe he is perfectly sane in the stories he tells. I just can't help but feel bad for the guy...stay tuned.

Cook's Clou: The Spastic Time Machine

This seems to be a central connector to Chapter 2 of Slaughter House, mainly because much of the chapter bounces around through time. This might not be the most intresting comparison, but I feel like it is the most closely realted example for the book...what do you think?

Chapter 2: Spastic Time and Anit-Normailty

"Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time"

This is the first of a wide variety of confusing sentences appearing in Chapter 2, that require in-depth analysis to fully comprehend and understand. This "Benjamin Button/The Man in The Time Machine of a chapter" had my head spinning for the better part of a half hour. Details are thrown into readers heads faster than most fruits are thrown into blenders,( couldn't really think of a better example.) Whether its the going to sleep a widower and waking up on his wedding day, or the going through one door in a specific year, and coming out the other end in a complete different time period, Billy's tale is on that drives itself away from the norm in Chapter 2. Unlike most stories that have a beginning, a middle, and an end,(along with your rising and falling action, as well as the climax and other pieces,) Slaughter House Five opens its doors in the early chapters, to reveal all parts of the story at once. I can't help but feel bad for Billy as the chapter goes on, specifically due to the fact that his dad died in a hunting accident, he was the sole survivor of a plane crash, and his wife died accidentally of carbon monoxide poisoning. This man has been through every thing, yet he still continues to fight on. I mean except for his whole stunt as a insane previously abducted man, he still seems to be in good shape. As the chapter reaches its mid-point, the story itself finally starts to take shape. Most notably referenced is in the year 1944, during his service in World War II. This portion of the book references Roland Weary, and how he, like Billy, is very new to war. As the chapter starts to reach its conclusion, Billy continues to jump around different years, leading me to believe that this book will continue to take us on a wild ride...stay tuned.

Cook's Clou: The Adjustment House

One of my all time favorite movies is The Adjustment Bureau, and one line in particular that appears in the slaughter house is Gerhard Muller  wrote them back saying that he hoped they would all meet again in a taxi cab, if "accident will". This seems eerily similar to The Adjustment Bureau's take on fate and how everything is up to chance, and we are all on a set plan of life, with people overseeing us to make sure we stay on the plan. I hope more instances appear in the book, so I can keep relating to this movie, because like I said its one of my favorite movies ever. In fact, maybe the only reason that you are reading this right now, is because its part of your plan...think about it..

-Jimmy "J" Cook

Chapter 1: Preface and Autobiographical Narrative Context

They say the beginning of any story is the hardest part with which to master. As far as Mr. Vonnegut is concerned, not actually starting the story, is the best way to begin the story. At first glance this chapter caught me off guard, because it clearly says chapter 1 at on the page....yet despite this, the first chapter should really be listed as a Prologue more than anything else. This whole first chapter is designed to create a relation between the book itself, and the trials and triumph that occured for Vonnegut to write the book. I feel like this chapter was written months or years apart, because in the first two pages, he refers to going back to Dresden with his "old war buddy Bernard V. O'Hare"...but then, just two page later, he introduces an, "old war buddy named Bernard V. O'Hare,". This reintroduction of a character, leads me to believe that this chapter was never fully revised, but rather it was written over time and forgotten about. However, despite all of the surprises this first chapter held, what most surprised me was the ending, because he actually says how the book starts, and how the book ends. I didnt believe him on how the book started...so I flipped to the end to see for myself...poo-tee-weet...he was telling the truth.

~J-Cook

The First Word

Hey World, this is my first post for AP Lang! Sorry it's a little late, I was watching Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, what a performance by LeBron 45-15-5 that's unreal! Time for Game 7 on Saturday Go Heat!...but I digress. Anyway, here's to the first of many posts over the Summer!

-Jimmy "J" Cook