Hilarious Misery

Reading Slaughterhouse-five enveloped me in a novel full of humor and mystery where the way Vonnegut manages his narration of the plot keeps my mind busy, but we must not forget the real context of the story. It all revolves around a bloody and inhuman war, even if the story makes it seem funny and exiting. The interpretation of war is greatly bent to fit the objective of the narration, but there are hints reminding us of the real context, so as to show how it is being manipulated. IN the final section of chapter seven, Billy walks us through his experience as a war prisoner working in Dresden like this: “There were spoons hidden all over the factory, on rafters, in drawers, behind radiators, and so on. They had been hidden in haste by persons who had been spooning syrup, who had heard someone else coming. Spooning was a crime (Vonnegut, p. 160).” With this, Kurt is reminding us of the real context, for after all they were not only in a war, they were the prisoners of the previous. They had to work to produce something they so much desired, and survived by stealing it in secrecy. With humor included and all, it is clear that Billy’s situation wasn’t anyhow easy or enjoyable. It is important to understand that there was also great suffering as in Greek tragic comedies. Right after the situation previously discussed, Vonnegut explains the detail of spooning as such: “”So Billy made a lollipop for him. He opened the window. He stuck the lollipop into poor old Derby’s gaping mouth. A moment passed, and then Derby burst into tears. Billy closed the window and hid the sticky spoon. Somebody was coming (Vonnegut, p.161).” Most important, it shows solidarity between the Americans in a war as the only opportunity for survival, but it also sows misery and desperation. Derby cried as he sucked on the honey, probably because it triggered all those memories of life, of how he used to live, of all those wonders in life which he had taken for granted: as honey. It may be a “hilarious” book as stated by the review on the cover, but it is also a story of war and misery, of death and loss. Don’t forget the context, for if you do, you’ll forget to grasp the meaning. And now I wonder, is that what is to be found so hilarious? Is it the fact that we laugh at the story of a prisoner of war?