2014-05-22

[public] 690K views, 13.0K likes, 125 dislikes audio only

CrashCourse

In which John Green continues to teach you about Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (WARNING: When Slaughterhouse-Five was published, some of the crude language in the book caused controversy. We quote one mildly controversial line in this video. If you're mature enough to read this book, you're likely mature enough to tolerate this quote, but we're obliged to warn you about it.) Anyway, this week, John is going to talk about Slaughterhouse-Five's status as an anti-war novel, and what exactly anti-war novels are good for. He'll also get into the idea of free will, and to what degree Billy Pilgrim's time travel and abduction by aliens were hallucinations induced by posttraumatic stress disorder. John will even give you an interpretation of why the Tralfamadorians look like toilet plungers. Hint: it has to do with plunging metaphorical toilets.

Consider supporting local bookstores by purchasing your books through our Bookshop affiliate link https://bookshop.org/shop/complexly​ or at your local bookseller.

Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecrashcourse/

CC Kids: http://www.youtube.com/crashcoursekids