A Look into the Narrative Crisis in <italic style="font-style: italic">Slaughterhouse-Five</italic>

Hanjie Ye

doi:10.47297/wsprolaadWSP2634-786552.20260703

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A Look into the Narrative Crisis in <italic style="font-style: italic">Slaughterhouse-Five</italic>

Volume 7, Issue 3

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A Look into the Narrative Crisis in Slaughterhouse-Five
A Look into the Narrative Crisis in Slaughterhouse-Five
Xianda College of Economics and Humanities, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, 200083, China
Vol. 7, Issue 3, Pages: 237-241(2026)
Online First：04 August 2026，

Published：30 June 2026
DOI：10.47297/wsprolaadWSP2634-786552.20260703
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Ye Hanjie.A Look into the Narrative Crisis in Slaughterhouse-Five[J].Research on Literary and Art Development,2026,07(03):237-241.
DOI：

Ye Hanjie.A Look into the Narrative Crisis in Slaughterhouse-Five[J].Research on Literary and Art Development,2026,07(03):237-241. DOI： 10.47297/wsprolaadWSP2634-786552.20260703.

摘要

Abstract

Since its publication in 1969

Slaughterhouse-Five

has attracted extensive critical attention for its fragmented narrative structure and anti-war themes. Drawing on Jean François Lyotard's theory of postmodernism in

The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge

this essay examines the crisis of narrative legitimacy in the novel. By exposing the long-neglected truth behind the Bombing of Dresden

Kurt Vonnegut challenges the grand narratives of war

justice

and historical rationality. The novel further reveals the instability of power-driven narratives in postindustrial society through Billy Pilgrim's psychological breakdown and his futile attempt to seek refuge in a science-fiction story. Through its postmodern narrative techniques and recurring language games

the novel presents a profound skepticism toward dominant narratives and portrays the debacle of individuals trapped between war trauma and modern social structures.

关键词

Keywords

references

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death. New York: Dial Press, 1970.

Lyotard, Jean-Francois. The Postmodernism Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 1979. Translated by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984.

Bloom, Harold (ed.) Bloom's Guides: Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Chelsea House, 2007.

Vonnegut, Kurt. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: Or, Pearls Before Swine. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1998.