Comparing Slaughter House Five 'And Catch 22'

Literature and Society: A Comparative Study

History has caused us, as the human race, to subconsciously assume that War is seen to be a product of death, destruction and hatred, a need to seek revenge on those who started the war. That, throughout time, war has been considered meaningful. Is War meaningful or is it better to be seen as meaningless? Were the three most well-known wars of history, World War 1, World War 2 and the Vietnam War, products of a meaningful event that inevitably killed thousands? Or do we need to realise that the only thing meaningful in regards to War, is the literature written by authors or poets who have experienced War and its devastating effects. That authors like Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote his literary classic “Slaughter House Five” in order to make people realise the true meaning behind war. That all war conveys is an attitude of selfishness and arrogance, a product of slavery and victimisation. This is also evident in not just “Slaughter House Five”, but in Joseph Heller’s novel, “Catch 22”. Both these two novels show different but similar viewpoints of war, by emphasising the concerns and ideas of the time periods in which these two novels were written. Today, you are joined with me, Sarah Day, here at the Brisbane

They both refer to War as something that is ultimately destructive and is of no benefit whatsoever to humanity. Both these novels relate to events that happened within similar time periods, and both these novels scored reactions from society at the time. Many of these reactions related to regret, shame and above all, guilt. These two novels are important pieces of literature as they are a product of work designed to understand the concerns and idea of their time. Thus proving that literature has a vital role in society in regards to the concerns and beliefs of a specific time