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Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Essay

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“A piece a cake,” this is a phrase commonly used unlike the phrase “so it goes.” In the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut the phrase “so it goes” is used 106 times. This three worded phrase does not seem like it has more meaning than the four worded phrase, “a piece a cake,” but it actually plays an important part in the novel. The phrase “so it goes” is specifically used after a person has died in the book, which occurs frequently. Vonnegut uses this phrase to demonstrate that whatever happens in life happens and so it goes. Kurt Vonnegut starts off with the main character, Billy Pilgrim, trying to find a meaning in this war world because he finds “life meaningless.” Tralfamadorians however simply reply to a corpse by saying “so it goes.” Soon enough Billy starts seeing corpses the same way and feeling nothing. He does not waste time to feel bad about the death of somebody, he just moves on with himself. Billy even admits that he has changed the way …show more content…

People are always going to find a way to start a fight or harm others. They accepted the fact that both of these things will always occur. They also knew that they could not prevent certain things from happening, “among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future.” This quote also shows how unpredictable war and death can be “You needn’t worry about bombs, by the way. Dresden is an open city. It is undefended and contains no war industries or troop concentrations of any importance,” Dresden however does get bombed and kills over 100,000 thousand people. It also shows that war does not have to make sense and you are not always safe even when you think you are.“Poo-tee-weet?” is also an

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