REPETITION IN SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
In the book Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut uses repetition in order to portray the negative effects of war on the main character.
This sentence, along with many others in the book, portrays how war has desensitized the main character, taking away his ability to express sincerity or emotion when addressing tragic incidents.
Also, on page 50, the author writes: “Billy’s Christ died horribly. He was pitiful. So it goes.”(Vonnegut,50)
Vonnegut’s use of small sentences to describe Jesus Christ’s suffering and ending the paragraph with ‘so it goes’ tells the reader that Vonnegut’s tone towards serious events seems careless and nonchalant. Also, the reader can infer from Vonnegut's tone and the quote's diction that the author has lost faith in the world and in a divine presence, something that was very common among the Jews during World War two due to the torture and persecution they were subjected to.
Borrowed from 123RF.com
The repetition used in the book provides the reader with a confused mood as to why there is no sincerity in Vonnegut’s words, but also sympathy for the atrocities that the main character had to witness and remember. Throughout the book, Vonnegut alludes to his hopelessness regarding humanity and his loss of faith in a morally conscious human society that does not frequently engage in wars and commits actions of injustice, which he experienced during World War two. The use of 'so it goes' allows the reader to interpret the author's bitter and somber tone.
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