Slaughterhouse Five
Final Project(s)
Tralfamadorian Literary Theory
Jig Saw Activity
1) Each group will be assigned a chapter 2-10; it will be
presented in chronological order
2) Presentations are an opportunity to articulate your
observations about your section of the text as both a
Tralfamadorian as well as an Earthling.
3) As a Tralfamadorian – look for the “brief, urgent,
message” communicated in the “telegram”
4) As an Earthling – contemplate how the “telegram”
contributes to a larger picture that is “beautiful and
surprising and deep”
5) Essentially, as a group, you are being asked to look at
your assigned chapter as both a stand-alone message as
well as a part of a larger whole
Tralfamadorian
Theories/Philosophy
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Believe in time travel
Do not believe that death is final
Believe that all moments exist simultaneously
Prefer to ignore the bad and focus on the good
Everything is predetermined
There is no such thing as free will
That have little to no empathy
Slaughterhouse Five CD Project
- As part of your final project for SH5, you will make a compilation album/playlist
(with a total of 5 tracks) that reflect your analysis of, understanding of, and
reaction to the novel. Consider each track as a “brief, urgent, message” about the
work. Taken as a whole, the CD should communicate “an image of life [or the
book/chapter] that is beautiful surprising and deep.”
- The album should have unity and flow (the songs should make sense together
and the progression of the songs should create drama). Think beyond plot based
connections between the music and the novel to connections related to theme,
mood, and tone.
- You will design a cover for your album.
- You will be required to provide a written explanation that articulates the
significance of each song.
- You may experiment with style and voice in you explanation. You may use
poetry, imagistic language, an informal tone, and other writing techniques that
you don’t normally get to use when writing formal essays. However, what you
write will need to clearly communicate the connection you perceive between the
music and the novel. The fluidity of the assignment is not an excuse to do sloppy
work.
- If you include quotes from SH5, please include page numbers.
The Trapeze Swinger – Example of Explanation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH3N_PHu6Aw
Similarities between this song and Vonnegut’s description of
Tralfamadorain literature are disquietingly abundant. This protracted,
hauntingly beautiful composition consists of eight stanzas backed by
understated instruments which allow the vocals to take center stage for
most of the nine-minute-plus duration of the track. There is no story being
told, and no logical progression from one part to the next; each begins with
“please, remember me”—consider this the set of stars that separates the
alien “telegrams”—and each proceeds in a different direction. Some are
anecdotal, some abstract; they describe events past, present, and future, and
the concept of time becomes immaterial. They appeal to one’s emotions at
various levels of sophistication, and each has a rather vaguely-defined but
definitely present theme. I can’t describe it any better than by using
Vonnegut’s words: “an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and
deep” (112). Consider the stanzas as a whole, like the Tralfamadorians
would: you have an intricate, resplendent portrait of the human condition.
And is it just me, or does the woodwind solo at 9:00 bear an uncanny
resemblance to Vonnegut’s birds’ “poo-tee-weet”?