The Childrens Crusade Innocence, Masculinity, and Humanity

Are wars still being fought by children. One could argue â€Å"no†, but others will say â€Å"yes†. Men go into war everyday, but many are not even fully grown. In Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five, he uses some of his own personal experiences to show the realities of war by examples of innocence, masculinity, and humanity through his main character Billy Pilgrim. Billy can supposedly time travel after being kidnapped by aliens from Tralfamadore and uses it to travel to his time in WWII were he experienced the bombing of Dresden and also travels to his past and future where he can visit other moments in his life. One of the underlying issues shown in Vonneguts book is how innocent the soldiers are that are fighting in WWII. Towards the†¦show more content†¦Many believe that wars are a time of great masculinity, but in reality are actually not. Again, Mary OHare has a some influence over Vonnegut and his book by being his voice of reason(Kunze 45). She belie ves that he is going to write his book making war look wonderful and have his story played in movies by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne(Vonnegut 18). At that time Sinatra and Wayne were ideal men and were thought to have great strength, courage, and style. The Three Musketeers are also a supposed guide to noble masculinity. Three brave men going on adventures, fighting evil, and having fun while stylish is something Weary and other soldiers hope for in war, but most never get, which in Billy’s case, he never got.(Kunze 46). He was constantly emasculated by the Germans, other soldiers, and his daughter. He is seen as a child by his daughter and a form of comedy by the Germans. After being humiliated by the Germans after being given a â€Å"fur-collar vest† instead of a real coat, one of the Englishmen refer to him as a â€Å"broken kite† instead of a man(Kunze 49). War does not make many soldiers masculine but can make them insane, vulnerable, or cruel. Though the t hought of masculinity is ideal, Vonnegut seems to prefer compassion and sensitivity over the so called masculinity. The Englishmen were probably manlier than everyone fighting, but their behavior contradicts with the