HOF and SH5 are a lot like pickles and ice cream, If you think about it.

HOF= Hearts of Fire (refer to blog post prior to this)
SH5= Slaughter House Five (refer to two blogs before this)

Okay so this blog is going to be a compare and contrast between HOF and SH5, because I saw many underlying themes that closely resembled each other.

First I want to start with Billy's perspective in SH5. Basically, he thinks that Christianity is only good for pain and suffering. Flipping the books over to HOF, the Christians are the ones experiencing that pain and suffering. Can you say plot twist?

Secondly, looking at the book from a biblical perspective, BP broke number 7 of the ten commandments: "Though shall not commit adultery." He also broke the biblical rule found in Ephesians 5:18 "And do not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the holy Spirit." (All of which he broke in the same sentence in SH5) Found on page 46, "Billy blinked in 1958, traveled in time to 1961. It was New Year's Eve and Billy was disgracefully drunk... Billy usually didn't drink much, because the war had ruined his stomach, but he certainly had a snootful now, and he was being unfaithful to his Valencia for the first and only time." 

Finally, both the women in HOF and BP in SH5 have an "escape plan". For Billy his way of escape in a difficult time is time jumping or going to Tralfamadore. For the women, it's praying or reading their bible and finding their comfort through Jesus. 

Is it just me, or does it seem like KV purposely set his story up to be very religious, lowkey of course? I just couldn't help myself by making this a post when I saw how closely the two books that I happen to be reading simultaneously are so intertwined. 

Reflections are always so interesting to me. 

Think about it, pickles and ice cream seem so gross together and you would never think to eat that, but when you finally taste it, you discover that it's not so bad. 

Hearts of Fire or Voices like flames?

This marking period I started reading this new book called 'Hearts of Fire' published by Thomas Nelson. This book is so interesting to me, because it is a combination the stories of eight women in the underground church and their stories of their costly faith.

The women in this book have had to endure such pain and agony simply for being Christians. Many of them live in countries where it is illegal, so they have to hide their faith.

Below is a map of the countries- today- that are heavily monitored based off of their faith.


One thing that I really like about this book is that every chapter switches to a different point of view. The writing is set up in a journal format, but it is in third person. All of their names have been changed for security reasons.
I have been having a really difficult time figuring out whom the text is addressing, though. My best guess is that is it directed toward people in similar situations and is projecting hope to them.
The overall theme in this book is most definitely faith.

For example on page 66, "For Purnima the next few minutes seemed an eternity. Tired and worn down physically from lack of food- the prisoners were fed rice twice a day- and dirty from being unable to bathe, she nevertheless felt the peace of God glowing inside her during these sessions."

To be tortured and beaten daily and still being able to smile and the end of every day is a flat out miracle. What makes it even better is that this book is a message to everyone that things around you may be bad, but you don't have to respond to that. After all, like Tinkerbell says, "Faith, trust and a little pixie dust."

The women in this book and so strong and amazing. Do you think it would be as easy for you to let your life be led by God and have total faith like they do? Could you be beaten and starved and still have a smile on your face?

Slaughter House 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5?

Billy Pilgrim sat on a wall.

Billy Pilgrim had a great fall. 

All of the prayers mixed with his sins couldn't put Billy together again.

What was the wall that destroyed Billy? War.  

Billy Pilgrim a religious man or not? That question is like asking how many licks it takes to get the the center of a tootsie pop, the world will never know.

But. What we do know is that he may not have said exactly what, but Billy believed in something. 

There are many times throughout the book where he references Jesus or where he's praying. For example, on page 109, "The flaw in the Christ stories, said the visitor from outer space, was that Christ, who didn't look like much, was actually the Son of the Most Powerful Being in the Universe."

Although he refers to God and Jesus by name throughout the book, notice how he doesn't call this being God here.

 Or on page 209, Billy's reoccurring prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to tell the difference."

But here he clearly calls him God. It seems to me as if he's "confused" in a sense. He doesn't know what he wants to believe in. Almost like having one foot into door number one and the other into door number two. It's only a matter of time before both doors close and you're left in the cold. You just can't double dip forever, BP. 

Why do you think Kurt Vonnegut chose to give Billy beliefs that strayed from the social norms? Do you think this decision enhanced Billy's character? 

Originally, I thought KV made this decision, because he was modeling his own belief system through BP, but after some intense research, I discovered that KV was catholic. So, my second hypothesis was that he chose this, because he wanted to differentiate how unique, for lack of better words, BP was. KV wanted BP to seem like such a nut job that there would be absolutely no question as to if he had PTSD or not. The answer is very clearly, yes. 

Never break someone's heart because they have only one inside...break their bones because they have 206 of them.

The birds and the bees fly high together in the woods and a few other other times. What stood out to me was on page 125, "His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it; he wished it had been hundreds---thousands. Anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with a wild of hope". Hey, Winston, it sounds like you want to be filled with a lot more than hope...like an STD!

Anyway, as we all know, Winston and Julia were tortured for their promiscuity. To the Party, it wasn't exactly torture. It was more along the lines of "constructive reinforcement". For example, on page 273 O'Brien says "We have beaten you, Winston. We have broken you up. You have seen what your body is like. Your mind is in the same state. I do not think there can be much pride left in you. You have been kicked and flogged and insulted, you have screamed with pain, you have rolled on the floor in your own blood and vomit. You have whimpered for mercy, you have betrayed everybody and everything". ((O'Brien is like^^^^))

Following that, Winston replied "I have not betrayed Julia". 

I don't understand how he thinks he hasn't betrayed her when he told them every thing that he knows about her. Ummm, Winston, last time I checked, that was betrayal. His excuse was "I never stopped loving her". 

What I would say if I was Julia: "We can't be together anyway, but if you just put all my business out like that, there's really no hope for us. On top of that, you told them to torture me to save yourself! I don't even want your love so you might as well completely betray me and deny the fact that you love me"

What Julia actually said in basic terms: "Cool fam".

What really got to me was how their "walk past you like I never knew you" game was super strong. Winston even said the thought of sex with her ever again was repulsive....

but that's none of my business. 

What I really can't believe is how Winston is actually serious about believing in Big Brother. His mind was previously so focused on hating him and rebelling and that tiny bit of pain changed him as quick as the snap of a finger... What part of the ending left you astonished? Why? 

Really Random

Has anyone noticed that there are no pets or animals in this book? On page 123-124 Winston and Julia saw a bird, and they were completely amazed. They clearly do not see birds often, but why? Why don't they have pet dogs or cats? How did they get rid of them all and where did they all go, if there ever was any? These questions will probably never be answered, but I just thought I'd put them out there.

 

#philosophical thoughts by Kayla Burch 

Well that escalated quickly...

Winston and Julia sittin' behind a tree.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.

First, I want to say that I really like their secret love. It's so dangerous, but it gives the book some livelihood. It's compelling to keep reading because eventually you know they'll get caught, but the question is; when?

This is a picture from the movie 1984.

Second, the title of this post is called "Well that escalated quickly...". I named it this, because their entire relationship was very out of the blue. On page 107, she secretly slides a note in his hand that says "I love you". This really confused me, because there was no foreshadowing that led up to this event. Before then he had never had a conversation with this girl, in fact, he absolutely hated her for just being pretty and young. She sat behind him in the two minutes of hate, she saw him on the other side of town where the proles live, and now she loves him? The only possible explanation that I have is that she likes his rebellious nature. She saw him on the other side of town and although it's not forbidden to go there; it's highly uncommon. A citizen under party control generally has no reason to be there other than official business. On page 122 she gives a small explanation that says "It was something in your face. I thought I'd take a chance. I'm good at spotting people who don't belong. As soon as I saw you I knew you were against them". It's very hard for me to believe that all it took for her to fall in love with him was that. What else do you think made her fall in love with Winston?

Repetition

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH 

This is the slogan of the Party. This Party has this slogan engraved in every subordinate's mind. No one in Airstrip one will ever forget it, but what does it really mean? They repeat something that they don't even comprehend. They have been brain washed and some of them don't even know it.

Definitions to keep in mind:
1. War: a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.
2. Peace: freedom from disturbance.
3. Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
4. Slavery: the practice of system of owning a person and forcing them to do work.
5. Ignorance: lack of knowledge of information.
6. Strength: the quality or state of being strong.

There is a pattern that these definitions follow. They all contradict each other. It's very strange, because contradictions make the brain think. It comes up with a range of different scenarios to try to grasp the idea that is being explained. It tries to define the situation. The Party does not want their members to think; they want to think for them. The Party wants the citizens to blindly follow and believe everything they say. Yet, this slogan is constantly repeated. "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Page 4). "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Page 16). "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Page 26). It continues throughout the book. Why do you think they keep repeating this? What does it mean to you? Better yet, what do you think it means to them?

On another topic, some of the Party members are passionate about the Party's control of the citizens, such as Syme. Others, just want to be truly free, like Winston. Some members are so pro-Party that they wouldn't hesitate to get this tattoo. This tattoo is currently on the skin of someone in the real world. If they are passionate enough, wouldn't fictional characters be, too?

Yet, these questions remain:
Who defines what a war is?
How can you know if you truly hold peace?
What does it mean to be free?
What considers someone a slave?
Is there anyone who is actually ignorant?
How can we test someone's strength?