Analytic Essay

Thesis Statement: Kurt Vonnegut is part of Slaughter House-Five by being the narrator of Billy Pilgrim's life.

Sections for close reading:

"Now Billy and the rest were being marched into the ruins by the guards. I was there" (212).

"That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book" (125).

"The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true. One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn't his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by  hired gunmen after war. And so on. I've changed all the names "(1).

"I went to the University of Chicago for a while after the Second Word War. I was a student in the department of Anthropology"(8).

"He [Billy Pilgrim] graduated from Ilim High School, in the upper third of the class, and attended night sessions at the Ilium School of Optometry for one semester before being drafted for military service in the Second World War" (24).

Argumentation points:

1. Who is the narrator.

2. Why is it Vonnegut and not Billy.

3. How do Vonnegut and Billy relate.