Tow #10 I am Very Real

A story that includes aliens, time travel, and war has become very popularly used to teach in schools. The book, SlaughterHouse Five, was written by Kurt Vonnegut, a highly popular author and war veteran. Although his book has been, and continues to be, used as a teaching aid in high schools, the head of a school board in  North Dakota, Charles McCarthy, demanded all copies of his book to be burned in their school furnace. He believed that the books had obscene language and were not to be given to the students. Upon hearing the news, Vonnegut decided to send McCarthy a letter to explain that although his book has obscene language, it is wrong to take this book away from children for it is a true story written by a real person.

I believe Vonnegut was highly successful in this letter because of the rhetorical devices he employs. Right from the start of his letter he uses an extremely offended tone. He explains how he is “ extraordinarily insult[ed]” because of what McCarthy has done. He does not remove the blame from McCarthy, who is the one to have caused all of this, all of the offense Vonnegut now feels. This causes the audience to feel anger towards McCarthy and sympathy towards Vonnegut. Another device Vonnegut used is rhetorical questions. Vonnegut explains that he is not using this event to publicize his books, he wants this letter to remain between them and he asks, “Do you have the courage and ordinary decency to show this letter to the people, or will it, too, be consigned to the fires of your furnace?” He does not actually believe McCarthy would burn this letter, but he pokes fun at how that seems to be how McCarthy solves his problems. This questions forces McCarthy to think about his own actions to come up with an answer to the question. Asking if he has ‘courage and ordinary decency’ paints him as such a horrible person to not automatically possess such necessary qualities. These devices together show how badly Vonnegut thinks of McCarthy and wrong his actions are. Vonnegut proves that his book she be given to children against McCarthy’s horrible judgement.