Due to Vonnegut's constant referencing of 'Dresden,' I decided that it would be important to research this place as a background for the rest of the novel. Starting my research with the Bombing of Dresden, I found that Dresden, the capitol of the German state of Saxony, was bombed by the British and United States Air Force, killing thousands. Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden during the time the bombing occurred. I gained a better perspective on Vonnegut's thoughts as i read his letter to his family regarding his time as a prisoner of war. He expresses the magnitude of massacre and emotional pain he was put through during his time there; however, he uses a recurring phrase -"but not me" - to show his pride in surviving multiple events in which the masses did not. In the first chapter of
Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut recounts events from his life such as seeing a man being squashed by a car. When asked if the scene bothered him, he replied "Heck no, Nancy, I've seen a lot worse than that in war." His unfeeling words described perfectly how Dresden had greatly shaped Vonnegut's life and how he viewed death, giving him enough material, in fact, to write a book about.
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