Kurt Vonnegut uses a variety of elements including satire which he was credited with being a master of, in “Slaughterhouse-Five†where he tells the story of Billy Pilgrim. The book is loosely based on Vonnegut’s experiences during the firebombing of Dresden in World War II. The literary element in “Slaughterhouse-Five†that I will focus on is this paper is his element of satire. Even the plot of this novel can be found to have satire in it. This main character Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time after being abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore where he is mated with a porn star.I even found satire in that Billy Pilgrim, was a bumbling and unlikely hero character. The fictional alter ego Billy Pilgrim was born in 1922, which if you happen to know about Vonnegut’s life, he too was born in 1922. I find satire in his Vonnegut’s fictional author, Kilgore Trout. It is rumored that this “Kilgore†could have been anyone from author Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction author Philip K. Dick or even Vonnegut’s own alter ego.
