SlaughterHouse-Five & Romanticism

      In Slaughterhouse-five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Romanticism is presented in an absurd way. It is presented in a way where the reader would have to look outside of the box to find. Romanticism in general revolves around imagination, rebelling against society, and nature. In Slaughterhouse-five, the plot revolves around a time period of World War II. Even though the book doesn't have a hero, or an outcome of joy and success, we see prisoners of war who "come out on top". This relates to romanticism because these prisoners of war are rebelling against society, because they are derived of any kind of control they once had. They are more like slaves, and property, who don't have freedom of where they can go and what they can do. The way these prisoners fight themselves out of trouble, is by "rebelling". I figured I would blog about Romanticism because usually a  reader wouldn't really notice that in fact there are romantic aspects in the novel. 
      "It is so short and jumbled and jangles, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre  Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like "Poo-tee-weet?" This quote, from Chapter one of Slaugterhouse-five, is not exactly screaming romanticism at the reader, nor is it easy to notice the romantic aspect, but I have found something worth explaining. Usually, the reader would notice that Sam, the publisher, apologizes for having such a lazy and short written piece on the massacre. A reader would maybe catch the irony of this quote, because no matter what, if you can write anything on a massacre, that it self is an accomplishment. What the reader generally wouldn't pick up from this quote would be the fact that "rebelling against society" is an aspect of Romanticism that is thoroughly presented throughout the story and in this quote. What I define as rebelling against society, could be remotely different from another readers definition. For me, a perfect example would be these prisoners of war, and the ways they act and live about the way they do. In the book, the whole time, these prisoners of war either have rebelled or are rebelling against society. Rebelling against society is war exactly. I haven't finished the book, but from what I have read and gathered, rebelling against society is a major aspect and guidance through out the book, which triggers me to be reminded of Romanticism constantly while reading. 

Age of Reason and Puritanism in The Great Gatsby.

      For the Puritans, God always came first. For Gatsby, it came down the self improvement, getting the ladies, and having money as priorities."Rise from bed at 6:00 a.m., Dumbbell exercise and wall scaling 6:15- 6:30, Study electricity, etc 7:15-8:15, work 8:30-4:30 p.m., baseball and sports 4:30-5:00, Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5:00-6:00, study needed inventions 7:00-9:00" (173). 
In the quote above it is showing what Gatsby does in order to self improve, and it also shows us how he will accomplish a "better self". This type of thinking process which is taking place inside of Gatsby's mind shows that Gatsby himself is an example as a whole, of someone who represents Age of Reason.                         
      Romanticism also takes place in the novel as a writing trend which is also expressed by Gatsby. 
Romanticism from what I have collected means not only "love" topics, but that you have everything being perfect and living happily without major problems. In the book, the way Tom Buchanan's lives, (his living style) represents this era because his house is really big and it gives us the stereotypical idea that because he has a nice/big house, that he is rich and happy, unlike Gatsby who has problems getting money, because the money he is getting is being earned at the bootlegging business. 

Puritanism, Modernism, and Realism relations to the Great Gatsby.

      The Great Gatsby in general shows relations and styles of American Literature from Puritans to modernists. Gatsby represents Modernism and Realism as well. The Puritan writing style is focused on a mission to settle in America. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby's "mission" is to accomplish and ultimately live the American Dream. 
      In the beginning of the novel he isn't really popular, and not very many people know him as "Gatsby", like they do in the end. He is very poor, and Daisy, his gold digger girlfriend, broke up with him because he didn't have a lot of money. He later looks at life from a different point of view, and comes to realization that he is going to change to become more successful and popular. He set a mission for himself that in general said he was going to become rich and happy. This mission he is going to set on, is a mission like the Puritans. 
      Gatsby uses another trend called the "Age of Reason". Age of Reason pretty much means that you think about how the things you achieved were achieved, or in other words, you look back on and notice the ways that you accomplish the things you do. An example of this would be how Gatsby lives by a set and strict schedule. He makes a schedule for himself so he can compete self improvement. "Rise from bed at 6:00 a.m., Dumbbell exercise and wall scaling 6:15- 6:30, Study electricity, etc 7:15-8:15, work 8:30-4:30 p.m., baseball and sports 4:30-5:00, Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5:00-6:00, study needed inventions 7:00-9:00" (173). The puritans lived by strict schedules as well because they were solely focused on God that all things had to be done in time and in order so that worship and "God time" was available for how ever long was needed. 


Sadie Spring