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Muhd Syafiq

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Slaughterhouse-Five

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

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Muhd Syafiq said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" WARNING!
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SPOIL THE CONTENTS OF THE THE STORYLINE OF SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE OR ARE READING IT RIGHT NOW

* * *

Slaughterhouse-Five is a book that boasts a great co WARNING!
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SPOIL THE CONTENTS OF THE THE STORYLINE OF SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE OR ARE READING IT RIGHT NOW

* * *

Slaughterhouse-Five is a book that boasts a great command of language, symbolism and the skillful weaving of hysteria within those elements that ultimately makes the book a well-written, quality piece of literature. Like most well-written, quality pieces of literature , Slaughterhouse-Five -- or may I refer to it as, “SH-5” -- had also received its very own movie or theatrical adaptation in 1972, that manages to capture the essence of hysteria and other aspects that are encompassed within the pages of the original piece. However, there are still a handful of differences that can be seen from the introduction to the credits that either lack exposure in the film, or are portrayed in a different way than in the book that I will discuss below.

All stories start with an introduction. When we compare the two versions of SH-5, we can clearly see the differences between them. To go further into detail, the book starts off with a short “introduction” to the book, in which the apparent author of the book describes the journey that he had taken in deciding whether or not to write SH-5. The following scene goes into the “actual” story of SH-5 and introduces the character, “Billy Pilgrim”. However, the first scene in the movie depicts one in which Pilgrim’s daughter pays Billy a frantic visit, worrying about his condition at home. This scene that was filmed for the film is originally found in Chapter Two of the original text. My personal opinion on this is that the first chapter of the book solely relates to the production of a book. Therefore, to add it into the movie would not be very wise, since the media and characteristics used in both are very different from one another.

On the subject of the differences between the novel and the film, another adaptation that we can see occurring is the decrease in the exposure given to the subject of death in the movie, as compared to the book. In the literary piece, death becomes somewhat symbolic as the story progresses, with the accompanying phrase, “So it goes”. This phrase, repeated by Billy, provides some significance towards death as a whole, yet makes every individual death insignificant in the process. However, when one watches the film, it is seen that the death isn’t exactly as symbolic as in the book, especially with the decrease in the phrase mentioned earlier. I think that the reason for this is mainly due to the media that the story is told. In the form of a movie, one would usually be subjected to film the production in the third-person limited/omniscient point of view. However, the constantly repeated saying, “So it goes”, that is found in the book seems to depend on the first-person point of view to delivered.

Now, despite the differences that have been discussed previously, there are similarities that can also be found, many of which involve the exposition of both pieces. The similarity that I have chosen to discuss on is the portrayal of Billy Pilgrim in the war and even in scenes featuring later time frames. Let’s talk about the movie first. In the movie, we can see how Billy acts foolishly during the war, like a babe in the woods. His idiocy can also been seen when he acts rather childishly in a scene involving the birth of his child, in which he prioritises, commends or celebrates his dog’s ability to comprehend commands and perform tricks more than the presence of his own newborn child, when in reality, the opposite usually occurs. Now, when we look at the book, a more obvious/direct description of Billy as an idiot or a fool by showing how he was “bobbing up-and-down” when he walks and also his reaction to when Weary attempts to breaks his back-- in which he “laughs” and does not show any attempt at directly stopping Weary from hurting him. To me, the book and the movie both manage to capture the contradiction of an intelligent and successful man acting under his age.

To be honest, as I was reading the book, I thought of another well-crafted piece whose main character seemed to resemble Billy’s foolishness. Having watched Forrest Gump whilst in the process of completing the book, I felt my mind gravitate to an interpretation of Billy as Forrest. The reason for this being the fact that both characters seemed to face the same situation, war, and were aware of the conditions around them at the time, therefore providing the ability to draw a connection from one to the other.

Ultimately, since this is an argumentative piece, I would have to say that I prefer the book to the film. Reason being that the book is able to deliver the storyline in a much more “sophisticated” and direct way at certain times. For example, the movie merely shows the viewer what is happening, how it happens and who is involved. Despite the opportunity for discussion of certain motives of the character, the fact that the media used is indeed visual, provides less opportunity for the viewer to “see” the story in a different way. On the other hand, the book directly describes Billy’s description by Weary as a fool during the war, however, pushes the reader to interpret certain aspects of Billy’s thinking, like why he was so convinced by the Tralfamadorians’ philosophy involving death such that he agrees with them and treats death like an unimportant event. Some may say that he had evidence, such as, the extraterrestrials’ ability to see time and interpret things differently, but others may say that the issue deals more with the subject of one’s humanity. I feel that the fact that words are used in written pieces give them more educational and artistic value, since they open room for debates, discussions and analyses from and by the public. ...more "

Mar 12, 2016 10:41PM · see review