Outline:

Introduction

● Opposite sides portrayed negatively, stereotypes

● Us -vs- them

● Bit of background

● Ironic and fabulized characterization to show shared humanity even during war

Body #1

● Bertram Copeland Rumfoord

○ Illustrates contrasting idea negatively

○ Characterization represents the opposite idea

○ War necessary, people aren’t people

○ Reflects badly - everyone dislikes him

○ Narcissistic - doesn’t care about anyone else

■ “He was superman” (237)

○ Truman speech - 238 - destroy ability to do war, doesn’t care about the people

○ “Those who approved it were neither wicked nor cruel” (240) (not necessarily

characterization)

○ Believes Dresden was a “howling success” (244)

○ “‘That’s not a human being anymore…’” (243)

○ “Rumford was thinking in a military manner: …” (246)

○ Pg 247 - hospital staff hate him

Body #2

● English + German soldiers

 ○ Friends

○ Admire each other

○ Opposite sides, but still friendly

○ War tries to separate people (us -vs- them)

■ Vonnegut challenges that belief by showing shared humanity

○ Not inherently enemies, war forced disconnection

○ Pg 119 - Englishman characterized positively

○ “They were adored by the Germans…” (120)

○ Not full of hate - view each other as respectable people

○ Fit within stereotypes but, ironically, were captured

○ “He considered the Englishmen as close friends.” (163)

○ Note: Englishmen not super positive towards Germans

○ “‘Weak, smelly, self-pitying—a pack of sniveling, dirty, thieving bastards,’ he

said. ‘They’re worse than the bleeding Russians” (162)

○ Expand

Body #3

● Ronald Weary and Paul Lazarro

○ Bad people

○ Have their own desires and goals

○ Not heroic - contrasts perception

○ Bad people doing not bad things on both sides of the war

○ Lazzaro = thief

○ Compared to chicken (162)

 ○ Speaks crudely

○ Promises to kill everyone

○ Dog story (177) revenge obsessed

○ “He didn’t have anything against the Germans” (177)

○ Never hurt the innocent (which I doubt)

○ Kills Billy to take revenge for friend, Ronald Weary

○ Ronald Weary - saves Billy’s life

○ Constantly talks about brutal death

○ “Stupid and fat and mean” (44)

○ Contrasting stereotypes

○ Crude

○ Wants to be a hero

Body #4

● German soldiers

○ Characterized modestly, if not a bit more positively, than other characters

○ Real people - not all evil

○ “She had never been to war before” (66)

■ Princess

■ Even the dog not evil, but just a dog

○ Early teens and old men

○ “They were irregulars, armed and clothed fragmentarily with junk taken from real

soldiers who were newly dead” (67)

■ Billy also dressed haphazardly

 ■ They weren’t the “real” soldiers everyone thinks of

○ “The boy was as beautiful as Eve” (68)

■ Described perfectly for enemy

○ Commander a good soldier, about to quit

Body #5

● Billy entering Dresden

○ Real people died

○ People confronted with real people, not terrifying soldiers

○ Creates antonym stereotypes to contrast perception (over the top)

○ “It seemed to him that Billy was in abominable taste, supposed that Billy had

gone to a lot of trouble to costume himself just so” (193)

○ “And do you feel proud to represent America as you do?” (193)

○ “[The guards] were all being killed with their families”

Conclusion

● Summarize

● War creates artificial divides, when in reality everyone is very similar

● Not everyone is good or bad

● Etc