| Kurt Vonnegut Jr.(1922-), is a typical postmodern novelist in American literature. In the turbulent 1960s, the rising of American Black Humor marked the formal formation of American postmodernist novel writing. As one of the most famous representatives of Black Humorist, no doubt, Vonnegut's works hold the characteristics of postmodernism. In particular, his masterpiece Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) strengthens Vonnegut's position in American LiteratureSince its publication, Slaughterhouse-Five has retained its reputation as Vonnegut's greatest and most controversial work. It has been used in classroom across the country, and also been banned by school boards. A major reason Slaughterhouse-Five had the enormous impact in society was because it was published at the height of the conflict in Vietnam, and so delivered its antiwar message to a most receptive audience. In a book of powerful passages, there is no more powerful one than this at the end of the novel-the assassination of Robert Kennedy. One of Robert Kennedy's promises in his presidential campaign was to stop the war, and when he died the hope seemed to die with him. For Vonnegut, and for Billy, it must have seemed that Dresden was happening all over again in Vietnam. Anyway Slaughterhouse-Five's success and the release of a feature film based on the book in 1972, gained Vonnegut a position as an American culture icon.Another reason why Vonnegut is so popular is that he is the spokesman of the "silent generation". He dares to speak the unspeakable and describe the indescribable. He does belong to what we know again to be the mainstream of fiction-ostmodernism.The primary purpose of this dissertation is to explore the postmodernwriting modes in Slaughterhouse-Five. And the main body consists of three parts. Part One is the succinct introduction in which I introduce the author, Kurt Vonnegut, and his relationship with Slaughterhouse-Five in the context of social background. Besides, through analyzing the typical contemporary researches of Slaughterhouse-Five both domestically and internationally, I lead to the theme of this dissertation-postmodern writing modes in Slaughterhouse-Five.Part Two is the postmodern writing modes in Slaughterhouse-Five which is the core of this dissertation. Since we mention postmodernism, we have to talk about it from modernism. Hence at first I define modernism and postmodernism and discuss their relations in Slaughterhouse-Five. Then I define postmodernism and generalize its main features briefly. Finally I elaborate postmodern writing modes in Slaughterhouse-Five from these four aspects.Firstly, in narrative mode, Vonnegut makes full use of circular (or non-linear) narrative structure instead of traditional linear structure. Secondly, in plot, the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim's time tripping and the frequent changes of time and space concept enable the plot to appear to be fragmented. Thirdly, in characterization, through Billy Pilgrim, this anti-hero, Vonnegut presents that people living in the postindustrial society lose their identities and become listless. Finally, in the narrative perspective, Vonnegut perfects the postmodern game through the mutability of the first person and third person and the parody of Jesus Christ.Part Three is the conclusion in which 1 summarize the characteristics of Vonnegut's works.As a consequence, Vonnegut is the bridge who connects modernism and postmodernism. Through him, we can perceive the American culture and people's spiritual outlook in the postmodern society. |
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