War is a tragic experience that can motivate people to do many things. Many people have been inspired to write stories, poems or songs about war. Many of these examples tend to reflect anti-war sentiments. Kurt Vonnegut is no different and his experience with war inspired him to write a series of novels starting with Slaughter-House Five. It is a unique novel that expresses Vonnegut's feelings about war. These strong feelings can be seen in the similarities between the characters, the information about the Tralfamadorians, the dark humor, and the structure of the novel. Kurt Vonnegut is an American writer from Indianapolis, Indiana, born in 1922. A very important part of his life was when he served in World War II where he was taken as a prisoner of war. Vonnegut was captured by the Germans on December 14, 1944 in the Battle of the Bulge (biography). He was held in Dresden with other prisoners of war to work in a syrup factory. When Dresden was bombed on February 13, 1945, he survived while hiding in the cellar of a slaughterhouse where prisoners of war lived. Vonnegut was finally able to return home in May 1945. He discusses his struggle to write down his experiences at the beginning of his novel Slaughterhouse-Five and was not able to publish the book until 1969. Vonnegut created Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist of history, to express their opinions on the war. One critic states that “no character in contemporary fiction is more traumatized and emotionally damaged than those of Kurt Vonnegut” (Broer 121). Billy and Vonnegut have many similarities throughout the novel. Just like Billy, Vonnegut was taken as a prisoner of war and witnessed the firebombing of Dresden (Vees-Gulani 175). While staying in Dresden, Billy meets a German guard n...... middle of paper ...... "After the Fall: Kurt Vonnegut" Criticism Winter 1985: 96-102."Kurt Vonnegut Biography" Notes classic. April 18, 2005. [www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/about_kurt_vonnegut.html].Broer, Lawrence R. Sanity Plea: Schizophrenia in the Novels of Kurt Vonnegut. Rev. ed. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1994.Lichtenstein, Jesse, and Douthat. "SparkNote on Slaughterhouse Five." May 2. 2005 [www.sparknotes.com/lit/slaughter/].Rasmussen, R. Kent. "A dance of duty with death." Library newspaper 15 July. 2004: 125.Vees-Gulani, Susanne. “Diagnosing Billy Pilgrim: A Psychiatric Approach to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five.” Criticism Winter 2003: 175-184.Vit, Marek. "The War in Slaughterhouse-Five" collection of essays by Kurt Vonnegut. April 17, 2005 [www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/kv_sh5_war.html?20052].Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dell Publishing, 1991.