the first blog assigned :)

When I first came into Mr. Tangen's class, we were assigned to do daily blogs on topics he would post. Coming from a school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, i had absolutely no idea what a blog was. Our first assignment was to read a text from one of his own personal blogs and respond in our own.

What is a blog? Why don't we just print out our assignments like most teachers do? Will blogs be the future generations books? All these questions have answers which i have only recently discovered. A blog can be a great many things. It can be a personal or made up story, or a summary of a piece of literature that you have read. there are also blogs about all sorts of things; such as, politics, sports, fan clubs, music artists, etc.

One of the reasons as to why teachers prefer to use blogs rather than paper or books, is because they are afraid they might lose the papers. This has happened to me on quite a few occasions, and at the end they always end up finding my paper in a different pile or somewhere else. another reason is to be green! America alone wastes so much paper on stupid things. with blogs you are saving a great amount of trees and oxygen. the last reason as to why i think teachers prefer blogs to books is because you don't have to carry a blog. Colegio Nueva Granada is on top of a huge mountain. In my opinion it is just as high as Mount Everest, and we have to climb it everyday in order to get to school. Carrying books and loose papers around probably isnt the smartest idea when you have the option to carry a laptop or you could just use the computer once you get to the school.

Because the internet is taking over the world at such a rapid pace, book sales have plummeted. People find it easier to just sit at there computer and look for whatever they need with the "click" of a button. This makes the reading of blogs more popular, and it is very unhealthy for people. Overall, i believe that in about 30 years there will be a great decline in books, and blogs will be used for almost all things.

Now that i understand how blogs work, it took me about 4 months to figure them out, i enjoy writing them much more the writing a paper. They are more convenient for everyone!

short story

When i was a teen-ager, I wrote a science-fiction story about Leonardo da Vinci. In it, a young art historian becomes fascinated with Leonardo's otherwordly paintings, with their strange rocky backgrounds, unplaceable landscpaes, and enigmatic not-quite-human saints, their single fingers forever pointing straightly upward. to make a long, and rather shamelessly, rod Serlingish, story short, the art historian eventually discovers, in a previously unknown codex, that Leonardo WAS an alien, that the rocks were the lanscape of his native planet, and that the fingers were pointing longingly back home...

This discovery was fascinating but at the same time scary. Knowing that scientists went on day after day researching the same things and not finding any evidence, yet me, a regular girl, having all the evidence and possibly the greatest discovery in the world was overwhelming. now, I had two options: i could not tell anyone and just continue through life, or i could find a way to prove my discovery and possibly become the world's next Darwin. After a long period of thinking, i decided to share my knowledge with the world... it took 60 years after my discovery before it was accepted into the world of science; however, even though i was 75 at the time, i was given credit and the next space expedition to attempt to find Leonardo's long lost home, was named after me. That expedition and many more were complete and epic failures. I died soon after so I will never know what ever ended up happening, or if the aliens came and destroyed the earth.

leaves of grass

Everything we do has a reason, with this, there are questions to what that reason is. In the poems asked to read by Walt Whitman, he begins with questions about life, but instead of actually answering them, he responds to them with more inquiries. This enforces the reader of the poem to maintain interested and alert to what is proceeding within the poem. Being a new student this year, I did not have the privilege of having Mr. Tangen as an english teacher last year. Instead, I had an extremely strict nun who happened to be teaching english honors. In her class, she taught us how to speak intelligently, and how to use grammar correctly. She also had us write many essays that were many times 5 or more pages. These essays would include rules; such as, no "to be" verbs, same tense throughout the whole paper, same person throughout the whole paper, and different sentence structures in the essay. This lady was a great teacher and helped me improve my english to a great extent; however, entering into Mr. Tangen's class was like entering a class which taught whole new and different language. Most of the class I was completely lost and had no idea how people would come up with the responses they shared in the class discussions. The rest of the time, I was trying to figure out the different technique he wanted us to use while writing our blogs and essays. Throughout the course, I had the privilege of sitting next to Daniel Toro and Pipe Reina. Pipe, being a new student from Miami last year, new exactly how i felt and how different and overwhelming the class was, so he was able to help explain to me when i was mostly confused. Daniel Toro, who is also incredibly smart, also helped me understand the techniques being asked of me. Mr. Tangen wanted us to learn the "if then so what" technique. This was the hardest for me because I was taught that you needed to end an essay with a conclusion and just finish the essay. With Mr. Tangen, I had to make my conclusion, finish the essay, and then see how i could instigate more as if i were going to continue another 5 pages in the essay. This was tough but the choice i made to stay in the class I am sure (hope) helped my english and will make me a better writer for the future.

In life, you make many choices; however, how do you know when you have made the right one? Personally, I dont believe that there is ever truly a dead right choice like in math or english that can be chosen when making life decisions. Instead of there being correct and incorrect, I believe there are only consequences and depending on them and the person, determines whether it was a good decision or a bad decision. Whatever led us to that particular decision is what can be determined as correct or incorrect. But there will never really be an answer as to why you do what you do. There will always be another question that can be asked.

The question in Walt's poem "What is the grass?"(6)allows us to enter into a whole new world of thoughts. Im sure that not everyone walks around, sees a piece of grass and ponders on what grass really is. With this poem, he enters a whole new philosophical meaning to the small leaf. He complicates and explains something most people would find so relatively small and simple. It's grass. Plain and simple plants that flow in the wind. Whitman explains and describes this plant in words that even young children would understand.

By repeating the words "Or I guess..."(6) He continues to show that there is no real answer. There is always another question that inquires further into the subconscious level of the mind. This occurs when you think of something too hard. When the answer is so simple that you question it further and further until you dont even know what the right answer is anymore. This disease of the mind can be great for writers, but personally, i think i shall stick with my simple answers. :) just kidding

Nice Guys Finish First... Most of the Time

Chapter 12 uses a different method to describe the ways of nature and the animals within it. Dawkins creates a certain special game and named it "The Prisoners Dilemma." In this game, there are three players involved. The first player is the banker. He is the judge and pays the winnings to each player according to how they play the game. The other two players play the actual game. The game is designed to see which of the two players is the nicer, and it is also designed to see which personality wins the game. In the game, the two players each receive two cards. The cards are labeled: cooperate and defect. The game proceeds like this. Player one stands between the two other players and tells them "ready, set, go." When this has occurred, the other two players choose one of their cards and hold it up. If both players choose "cooperate," then both shall be rewarded the same amount and it is considered "fairly good." If both players choose "defect" then the players shall be penalized the exact same amount and it would be considered "fairly bad." If player one defects and player two cooperates, then it is considered "very bad," and player one would be greatly fined. If player one cooperates and player two defects, then it is considered "very good," and player one would receive the highest payoff amount.

This game although tricky to understand, it has a theory to which the players must act upon in order to win the game. Both players must find an efficient strategy in which both players can benefit from each other. It is a difficult game because it takes a while for the players to conceive this concept and put it into action. Even then, the other player must also take part in the strategy in order for them to win. Dawkins uses this game to relate to nature. Like with birds, if one removes the ticks from the other, the other may decide to return the favor or not. If he does then they both win and benefit equally, but if he doesn't, then he will benefit the most and the first bird will lose the cost of his actions.

Dawkins did not find this game satisfying enough; therefore, he continued his research and came up with more strategies such as the "Tit for Tat" strategy, which depends on both players copying exactly what the player before chose to do, and the "axelrod" strategy, which implies forgiveness of the opposite player and envy of the opposite player in order to defeat and win the game. Dawkins shows many examples of how he applies his theories to nature. He uses every aspect in his games to match an aspect in nature and in the animals habits.

Women Always Win :)

Since the day the earth was created, there has always been a fight between the sexes. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses but only one can be the top. the amount of males to females in an litter should be about the same in order to keep an evolutionary and stable balance. if the balance were to be disrupted by a grand amount, their would be a change and their would be a great net loss.

All parents want to have as many offspring as possible so that their gene may grow and always be prosperous, but this depends on how much a mother gives to its offspring in the gene pool she gives. the less he gives to each of her offspring, the more offspring she is able to have in her lifetime. the catch to this strategy is for the mother to get her partner to invest more genes so that she will have a greater supply and can give more offspring with other partners. This selfish act results in more offspring, but with different genes mixed together and a difference in the environment.

As seen throughout history, not only do females commit this selfish act, but males as well. Males on the contrary are more prone to investing less genes and having more partners then females are prone to invest less in their own offspring. Females avoid this act by waiting a long time in order to rule out who are the worthy suitors to which they will have offsprings with. Prolonged engagements and courtships are also very common in women when avoiding this selfish act of the male.

Battle of the Generations

Chapter 8 has different point of view and different focuses. In the beginning, Dawkins describes mothers as machines which produce a child similar to themselves. like machines, mothers try to duplicate their own genes and pass them onto this new machine being created to live in this world; but unlike machines, they cannot be exactly duplicated or copied. Genes can work in an order and follow instructions like machines, but they do make mistakes more often, and they also have then genes of the father which they have to incorporate into their offspring. Each offspring a couple has is very different. it has many similarities and comes from the same genes and parents; but its effect is entirely unique and can never be duplicated by another sibling from the same makeup. This is a difficult process and Dawkins shows it as simply as the work a machine does when running its regular course.

As said before, brothers and sisters are as closely related as mothers and their children are; therefore, a mother gives the same amount of genes (1/2) to each of her offspring. because of selfish greed which has already developed at the age of birth, each child wants his or her mother to invest more genes into him or her then into the rest of the siblings. The mother will naturally only invest the same amount into each, but the act of selfishness is reinforced at the young age of the child, which will characterize most of its behavior for a good amount of the child's life.

Different species handle this jealousy in different ways. each of these ways are prone to help its particular specie to get ahead in the race of natural selection. Some birds lay their eggs in different species nests because when the egg hatches the normal action the young bird would take would be to kill the other unhatched eggs with its sharp beak and kill the other birds opportunity to be competition for food from the mother. This act is passed on throughout generations and the trait is never lost. when the mother returns with food, the child would be happy and show it in some obvious way for the act he has done and for the ease it will now be to have the food brought home by the mother. This obvious act would please the mother and give her inspiration to go get more food and nurture her child, giving the child the new idea that by doing this it can manipulate and receive whatever it wants.

Aggression :/

All the chapters of the book, The Selfish Gene, have a way to describe life in a different way. It uses different parts of the novel to show different aspects of life in the point of view of Dawkins. This raises the question, "Which of these descriptions is true and which is false?" In chapter 5 of the book the genes are described to have strengthened their instinct and awareness of the other genes that are dangers to their elimination in the natural selection process. These machines with minds of their own are aware that they can be deceived easily and if done, they shall not be victorious in the selection. The spots in the selection are few and any competition from any species could be detrimental to the gene. the selection not only chooses the genes by the greatness of the specie, but it also values how well the gene uses its surroundings and environment for survival.

A genes environment includes everything around it at all times. Not only does it include the rocks, rivers, and setting; but it also includes the other genes which are also in the rigorous race for survival. In order to use all of its environment to help its chance for survival, the gene must use the other genes in its environment to its advantage, and it must use the other genes' skills to help them with their own chances in the race. This "using other species for your own good" became known as an individual interpretation of animal aggression. This made known that it was not only the homosapiens who could and would kill their own species in order to win the benefit of the situation, the other species would also kill and do whatever they could to get them further ahead in the race to survival.

What the species in the race fail to realize is that it would be more beneficial to them to be more like doves. These harmless creatures have been in the race for a long time and do not deceive their own family specie or any other specie alive in their environment, even if they cause a threat to their chance of survival. Being like a dove would help them because it is easier to be selected as a group them to be enemies always on the lookout for the other, killing each other off as life goes on without the help of natural selection. Instead, each specie uses its talents and strengths to try and outwit the other genes. This theory is a conspiracy and the only negative effect of a conspiracy is that it, like the trust once held within the species, can be abused. People can add and take away from conspiracies according to their own personal morals and beliefs. most people agree with this conspiracy of the most beneficial thing for all is to act like harmless doves, but the ones who strongly disagree and have good arguments against it will make conflicts with anyone and everyone. This leads us to the answer that each description depends on your own point of view. Dawkins gives his ideas as another option to add or think about other than your own.

Genes + Machines ?

In chapter 4 of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins describes how early replicators made themselves "survival machines" in order to protect themselves from other replicators. Within time these machines begin to navigate and move around by wings, legs, fins, and etc. Along with these new advancements, the machines also begin to develop consciousness and imagination. These mutations to the early survival machines helps in their struggle and fight for survival. This makes them have their own personality, and it allows them to think on their own. These brains allow them to defend themselves from their predators not only by instinct, but by intelligence as well.

The development of communication also came to be with the brains that developed in the machines. Communication became very important within the genes, but along with the good this new advancement brought, there also came the defect of lies. The genes figured that communication was vital and those who abused it could at times gain advantage of the other genes. With this, Dawkins paints a picture of the early brains being simple devices that became more complex in time. being that genes are not just single celled organisms, they do not just mindlessly replicate. They now have brains and thoughts to which affect everything they do.

Single celled organisms replicate mindlessly and exactly the same every time. The only time there may be a change is when a mutation occurs. When this happens, the organism changes only slightly. Eventually in time the organism will change drastically but it would take a long time for so many mutations to take place.

Chapter 3 The Selfish Gene

In chapter 3, Dawkins describes how all things are different and unique. Although this is true, it is also true thats all things are made by one molecule... DNA. This chemical chain is the basis of our life. Without this life chain we would not be able to live, and we would all be exactly the same. This theory led Dawkins to believe that everything came from some sort of replicator that was somehow able to preserve its patterns and some of its genes. This is how we all came to be. The future generations from the replicators makes us similar and the slight mutations and changes in the patterns and genes causes our unique DNA.

How a gene helps its host and how in return the host will help provide for its genes. This double sided effect is essential for the survival of both the host and the gene. While they make a great team and work off each other, they may also be the worst of enemies and work against each other. if a gene has the wrong chromosomes and genetic makeup for the host, and it is causing a disadvantage for the survival of the host, then the host will leave it and it will die off on its own without help and nutrients. this does not only hurt the gene, it also makes it harder for the host to find genes to carry.

When the host dies, the gene pool dies with it. In humans, the gene pool begins to fade when you are younger and it is already empty by the time you hit that end of the road. The genes die off and leave the body in all ways possible. This cleanses your body and decreases the amount of genes and DNA in your body so by the time you die, your genes will have dissolved and disappeared. This is Dawkins way of describing how all things work and why they are the way they are.

chapter 1-2 The Selfish Gene

In chapter 1 of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins describes the race of evolution and of survival between all species. The word "describes" is in italics because of the very common mistake made in the world where people say that Dawkins explains the race of evolution. To explain something means to tell how something should be, while when you describe something, you use adjectives, other descriptive words and examples to show how that particular thing is.

Dawkins describes that each specie must change and must be able to adapt to its surroundings. with evolution and the advances in technology, the environment is constantly changing. If the specie cannot change itself to work in its new environment, then it will die off with all other species which could not change to adapt themselves.

Dawkins also describes how all genes have a selfish personality. They are all said to want to be the best in order to pass the test of "survival of the fittest. each specie is willing to do anything in order to take out competition and make sure they are safe within the game, but because not all were made to be able to adapt to all the hardships, some are eliminated and become extinct. This process is inevitable. From the minute you enter the world, you are submitted into the race and must strive to be the winner.

In chapter 2, Dawkins talks about DNA. he says that it is the most successful and productive replicator in the world. He treats them as if they are living things. He says that they develop more elaborate shells over time to protect themselves and their vital, complex, and hard work. this is somewhat true considering that all DNA had some sort of "skin" and "vessel" to cover and protect it from any outside dangers.

Like all other species, DNA had to go through the process of elimination as well. only the fit and useful DNA was kept within the species while the unnecessary DNA eventually died out. this process brought us to the complex and grand DNA we have today, but the process will continue and new DNA will continue to form as the old will continue to die out.

talk about hyperbole!!!

In chapters 6 and 7 of Voltaire's Candide, Voltaire shows much exaggeration, or hyperbole towards the characters. Just like many teachers show towards their students, exaggeration of any type is bad. Good exaggeration, such as picking favorites, can cause harm to the direct person by making him or her become conceded and even sometimes lazy. It also hurts the people around the student. it may cause them to be jealous, or it may hurt them inside because they may feel that they are inferior to that person. On the other hand, bad exaggeration can be horrid! If someone ever shows a bad feeling towards you, depending on their position of power, it can be dreadful or just not nice. In the case of Candide, the Portuguese officers show much hyperbole in the sense that they kill random people just because they think it will make the world safer. Because of the recent and deadly earthquake, the officers choose certain people whom they find are different or contradict their beliefs, and they kill them. Pangloss was one of these men who was killed. They murdered him because of his outspoken opinions and they persecute Candide for being his friend and not disagreeing with him.

Candide soon changes his perspective of life. Pangloss had changed it once before to a very optimistic view, and now that he was killed, Candide had no one to reinforce this way of thought. He returned to his original ways and thought of the earthquake and other things as negative and not just as "the best of both worlds." Ironically, soon there after, a strange woman finds Candide and takes care of him just as he had done for Pangloss. After she does this, she takes him to meet his real benefactor Conegounde.

Candide chapters 4-5

In Candide's chapters 4-5, Candide shows a kind and humble disposition, and helps a strange man whom he meets on the street, as a deformed beggar named Pangloss. Little does he know that this man who he unselfishly helped, ends up becoming his best friend. Pangloss has very strange ideas about life, but they interest Candide. He teaches Candide his unchangeable theory of life. This theory, that all things in life happen for the better, is a way of life in which only optimistic people can adapt to. Pangloss has used this theory as a guideline for his way of living life. In order to follow this way of life, your mind must be able to change its original way of thinking, and see everything in life as a positive aspect. Even in the worst of times, you must be able to believe that whatever it is that is ocurring is for the better and that only good can come out of it. Pangloss contracted Syphallis and even in this hard and horrific time, he believes that the sickness is the best of both worlds. He was poor and did not have anywhere to go in life. Candide hires him as his own personal bookeeper and because he knows better then to leave his friend without professional help, seeks a doctor to help cure him of his fatal disease.

When the doctor hears of Pangloss´ theory of life, he tries to convince him otherwise but fails in his attempt to do so. The doctor retaliates by saying, “men have somehow corrupted Nature.” God never gave men weapons, he claims, but men created them “in order to destroy themselves.

Later on in the fifth chapter, Voltaire shows how men, when given privileges, become greedy and do things that they might have thought hypocritical before. Candide, Pangloss, and the sailor are the only men that survive a terrible shipwreck. Once they manage to reach an island they see that it is the island of Lisbon and it has just experienced a terrible earthquake which left some dead and many wounded. The sailor finds stray money on the island and decides to use it to get drunk and pay women for sex; meanwhile, Candide and Pangloss try to help the victims of the catastrophe and tell them that it was for the better to help them psychologically and they also try to provide as much medical care as possible.

Should they have helped totally and complete strangers, who most of had no chance of surviving, or should they have done what the sailor did and spent the money on material things for themselves? The answer depends on your morals and how greedy you are as a person.

theories or common sense?

Candide seems to be a man who just "goes with the flow" in life. This can be viewed with many different opinions. They just depend on your personal aspects, and how you have been brought up and raised in your family. Candide does not voice out his opinion unless in danger, this can be a smart idea depending on the situation. In chapter 2, Candide is put into the military. When this happened, he did not argue or try to get out of it like most men would; instead, he just joined and tried to get out as soon as possible. After that, Candide runs into a conflict where he must choose whether to be executed or tortured. In this instance, he chooses to voice out his opinion and try to save his hide. This does not work out as effectively as he wished, but fortunately, he was saved by the king of Bulgars, who showed him pity and let him go as long as he served in their army. once again, Candide just follows through.

Not only does Candide just flow through his life, he also follows the advice of any who is wise enough to provide it. In the novel, Candide, Voltaire shows the effectiveness of following theories. "[t]here is no effect without a cause," is the theory Pangloss tells Candide before he goes off into the war. Candide follows this theory throughout his journey. I personally wonder, "Was this a smart thing to do?" Theories are just hypothesis' that have not been proven. To follow an idea that has not been proven, and to apply it to your life may not be the smartest thing to do; although, this theory seemed to work for Candide. The theory he chose to follow was based on common sense. This allowed him to follow it without risking very much. If you choose to follow theories like this one, then it wont cause a problem; but if you choose to follow theories that have no way to be proven unless by experience, then you choose to risk whatever is present.

Slaughtehouse-5 chapter 9

Chapter 9 involves the death of Valencia. In the very beginning of the chapter, Valencia hears of Billy's plane accident. She goes hysterical and speeds her cadillac to the hospital. On the way there, Valencia cannot concentrate on her driving because she is so worried on Billy's condition, that she crashes into another car and leaves the scene of the accident, then she goes the wrong way on the highway, and then crashes into the hospital. This crazy drive resulted in the her death. Coincidentally, both unconscious, Billy and Valencia pass each other in the hospital. One was going in the direction of the operation room, and the other on the way to the recovery room.

While in the recovery room, Billy is put next to a man recovering from a skiing accident who also was an air- force historian. He is writing a book about World War 2 and it contains a part in which the destruction of Dresden took place. Billy overhears him talking about the facts he was going to put in his book about what happened in Dresden, and he tells him that he was there for the whole thing and knows exactly what happened. Because of the injury Billy had on his head, the historian thought he was crazy and did not want to believe what Billy was saying. He quizzed him about Dresden for a while and then Billy was taken home by his daughter. He, knowing and wanting to reveal the truth about Dresden, escapes to New York and and sees many works involving Montana. He then time travels to the time where Montana is breast feeding their baby and reveal that she knows when Billy has been time traveling. This astonishes Billy, and even more so, the locket on her neck with the same serenity prayer as the one in his office astonishes him.

Again Vonnegut shows how Billy's mind has changed with the war. He shows the dangers war can have and he makes his negative opinion of war very clear.

Vonnegut chapter 8

Chapter 8 consists of a Nazi propagandist who tries to turn the american soldiers away from their original duty. Derby, being the leader, refuses to stray away from the original duty imposed on them by their captain. Nearly seconds after, an air-raid comes in the siren goes off for the soldiers to seek shelter and protection. This raid completely contradicts what the propagandist said before the siren. This made any soldier who began to change his mind and want to go to the Russian side, change their mind again back to their original thoughts. With this part of the story, the author shows how gullible soldiers can become after spending only a few weeks on the battlefield. They become too overwhelmed, and too traumatized to continue with what they began, so when someone comes and offers a better option to what they are currently doing, they consider it; even though it may not be as good as what they are making it seem.

Later in the chapter, Billy travels back to where his daughter blames an old friend of his statements about the Tramalfadorians. Almost instantly after this memory, Billy travels to another time where Trout, a ladies man, drops salmon into a very attractive woman's cleavage. During the party, Billy has another time travel to the night where Dresden was destroyed. It affects Billy very strongly, and he again time travels to Tramalfadore. While he is there, he tells Montana, who is 6 months pregnant, a story about the destruction of Dresden. Vonnegut shows how disturbed Billy's mind has become within being in the war. They can no longer be normal and as they were before.

slaughterhouse-five chapter 7

In this chapter, Vonnegut continues with Billy and the Tramalfadorians, specifically Valencia. He tells about Billy's departure from the Tramalfadorians and his plane crash with the four- eyed bastards barbershop quartet. They sing many songs before the horrid crash, one which is about a polish man, reminds Billy of a hanging he witnessed of a Polish man who had sex with a german woman. With this memory, Vonnegut shows the extremities different consequences can have in different places. Different cultures view certain acts as vulgar and unacceptable, while others view them as gross and impolite but not a big deal; being in the war introduced this thought to Billy.

Later in the chapter, Billy travels to the time where he fractures his skull, but survives and is taken to a hospital by Austrian skiers. The next time travel was to a syrup factory. In this factory, Billy discovers the workers secret. The malnourished ones, sneak and hide spoons all around the building and when not being watched, they take small spoonfuls and eat it. At this time, Billy was scrawny and malnourished; therefore, he followed what the workers did and took a sample of the syrup. The minute it touched his lips, his body shivered in delight. Seeing that Derby was also in need of good nourishment, Billy snuck a spoonful of the syrup out of a small window that connected to the outside where Derby was working, and gave him a mouthful of syrup. Gratefully, Derby smiles and instantly feels much better. He even begins to cry of joy. With this, Vonnegut shows how the war teaches soldiers to watch out for each other and make use of all the resources they have. This is a very good skill to acquire and it is very useful.

Thesis

Thesis Statement: The anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse Five, is used to show the devastating effects of war.

The first point I found, that can be useful for my analytic essay, is: Kurt Vonnegut tries to reveal the foolishness of the human mind through the anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse Five. He depicts the war with so many worthless killings; such as, "one guy i knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot." (1)

The second point I found that also supports my thesis statement is: Acting foolishly, Billy is used as an example of the humans who are also against the war. He believes that the world will be destroyed by the war, "And I have lit my way in a prison at night with candles from the fat of human beings who were butchered by the brothers and fathers of those school girls who were boiled. Earthlings must be the terrors of the Universe." (116)

My Chapter 6

Within this chapter, I see how Slaughterhouse-Five uses irony and hyperbole in a humerous way. Previously in the book, I took everything too literally. The book seemed melancholy and not very interesting. In my english class, my teacher, Mr. Tangen, suggested taking the book not so literally, but with a light and humorous mind. When I did my reading that night, I tried to apply what Mr. Tngen had suggested and I saw all the hidden jokes Kurt Vonnegut put into the novel. I read certain parts twice so that I could be sure not to miss the literal meaning and the humorous meaning. "The Englishman with Lazzaro's feet was colonel who had given Billy his knockout shot. The Blue Fairy Godmother was embarrassed, and angry too. 'If i'd known i would have ... " (page 127) This quote shows how hyperbole is used to add humor to the novel. Vonnegut uses the common and well known image of a fairy godmother, a soft and very sweet character, in a violent and revengeful way. He makes the image and the version from the novel an oxymoron. "..." In this quote, Lazzaro tells them of how envious he is that they are going to Dresden. He tells them of how safe it is and how great it would be for them to go over there. Ironically, when they get there, they are bombed just as Lazarro had told them would not happen.

Vonnegut Chapter 5

Within this chapter, Billy travels back to various times in his past. Vonnegut reveals certain information so that the reader understands Billy and his actions better. Billy goes back to a time where the tramalfadorians teach him of the seven diffrent sexes. This confuses Billy, but he does not question the subject any further.

"There isn't any particular relationship between the messages except that the author has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time." At this point, Billy has the Tralfamadorian novel explained to him. Vonnegut uses this as a model for the story. The irony of Vonnegut using this strategy, is that he, like Billy, also does not completely understand the ability to pick up and choose his moments.

Vonnegut later explains the reasons as to why he travels back in time. He shows certain passages of his life so that we understand the reasons why he does what he does.