Kurt Vonnegut is considered by many to be the greatest American author of the 20th century. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 11, 1922, to Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. and Edith Vonnegut. His father was a prominent architect in Indianapolis and took good care of his three children until the Great Depression hit in 1929. The Depression put Kurt Sr. out of work and damaged his morale in such a way that he basically gave up on life. . His wife, Edith, eventually resorted to alcoholism and prescription drug abuse to escape the troubled times that the Depression brought to the Vonnegut household. These habits ultimately led to his death in 1944. At age 20, Kurt Jr. was deployed to Germany to serve in World War II. He witnessed first-hand the firebombing of the German city of Dresden, which caused the deaths of around 60,000 people. His experiences in Dresden, as well as his troubling home life, gave him his satirical and dark comedic voice, which allows Vonnegut to make his readers laugh, even if the subject described is dark. Vonnegut's 1969 masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five, is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest anti-war novels ever produced. The novel follows the life of Billy Pilgrim, a time-traveling chaplain's assistant during World War II, through his wartime experiences as well as his expeditions to Tralfamadore, the planet where he is taken and exposed by aliens who resemble strongly to divers. The Tralfamadorians teach Billy that time is unalterable and that any event that happens has happened and will happen forever. There is no free will on Tralfamadore. Destiny is unalterable: I am a Tralfamadorian, I see all the time as you could... middle of paper ...... icism. Ed. Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk. Flight. 60. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990. Gale Library Resources. Internet. November 26, 2013.Edelstein, Arnold. “Slaughterhouse-Five: Time out of Joint” Academic Literature, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Spring 1974), pp. 128-139. Internet. JStor. November 26, 2013.McGinnis, Wayne D. “The Arbitrary Slaughterhouse-Five Cycle: A Relationship Between Form and Theme.” » Review: Studies in Modern Fiction 17.1 (1975): 55-67. Rep. in contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk. Flight. 60. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990. Gale Library Resources. Internet. November 26, 2013. Lundquist, James. "The 'new reality' of Slaughterhouse-Five." 1977. Bloom Guides: Slughterhouse-Five. New York, NY: Infobase, 2007. 71-78. Print.Shmoop editorial team. “The Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse Five” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. November 26. 2013