IMAGERY IN SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
In the book Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut uses imagery in order to provide a vivid and uncensored description of the tragic events that he experienced during World War two.
“The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the zipper on the fly of God Almighty. The gun lapped up snow and vegetation with a blowtorch thirty feet long. The flame left a black arrow on the ground, showing the Germans exactly where the gun was hidden.”(Vonnegut,43)
The author describes a simple gunshot in the most elaborate way possible, while painting an image in the back of the reader’s mind of the dramatic scene that took place.
“In went water and loaves of blackbread and sausage and cheese, and out came shit and piss and language.”(Vonnegut,90)
Once again, the author offers a lucid depiction of the graphic scenes that he experienced. Words such as shit and piss provide the reader with a clear image of the tragic occurrences Vonnegut experienced during World War two.
"He looked down at his bare feet. They were ivory and blue."(Vonnegut,92)
The description of Billy Pilgrim's feet by the author allows the reader to fully comprehend Pilgrim's terrible physical condition. Words such as ivory and blue are not ordinary colors of feet and most often hint at disease; hence these two colors are used by Vonnegut to give a clear image of Pilgrim's feet.
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