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Slaughterhouse-Five And Catch-22 Comparative Essay

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Slaughterhouse-Five And Catch-22 Comparative Essay
Kurt Vonnegut 's Slaughterhouse-Five and Joseph Heller 's Catch-22 use similar motifs to convey their common anti-war message. Although it is truly difficult for any author to communicate the true nature of war in a work of literature, both novels are triumphant in their attempts to convey the devastating experience. The authors ' analogous writing styles, themes, and motifs run parallel to one another. Both Slaughterhouse-Five and Catch-22 incorporate irony, exemplify the idiocy and folly of military institutions, and convey a similar theme throughout their story lines.

One common theme is seen in the characters of Hungry Joe in Catch-22 and Edgar Derby in Slaughterhouse-Five. Both of these characters relate to the casualties that were not caused by direct battle wounds. These motifs relay the authors ' anti-war message. "The picture of war painted by Heller and Vonnegut is highlighted by their utilization of irony. Their careful strokes of irony on the canvas of their novels help to prove one of their numerous shared themes." (Meredith 218)

Along with Hungry Joe and Edgar Derby exemplifying the casualties not caused by battle, they also represent the tragedies suffered shortly before the conclusion of the war. After surviving all of the hardships of war, these two men perish only when the end of the war …show more content…
Throughout the war, both men have witnessed an abundance of violence and death around them. Based on their experiences, we can assume that they desire sex for the purpose of reproduction. While Yossarian was engaged in an affair with Mrs. Scheisskopf, every month she would tell him, "Darling, we 're having a baby again." (Heller 80) Just as Vonnegut believed and communicated in Slaughterhouse-Five, A soldier 's instinct and desire is to reproduce and even before he has taken lives, he wishes to pay in advance for the lives he knows he may be responsible for taking. (Meredith
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