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http://jbrousseau.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/the-childrens-crusade/
First off, I would just like to say that I really enjoyed reading this, Jessica. I’m about to write mine, and you definitely inspired me to get the creative juices flowing. Just like when reading Vonnegut, when I read your vignettes I felt this negative feeling towards the war and the fact that soldiers were merely children. You were able to bring that out without being in your face about it, which Vonnegut does flawlessly. I especially like the vignette about the dead child that was found. It would fit into the novel perfectly and reinforce “The Children’s Crusade” part of the title. Yes, many of the soldiers that were killed were young, but people don’t think about the babies and children that were killed or left without parents.
Although there is an unconventional discourse presented in these vignettes, they all three tie together in that they all address children. In the first vignette, Billy thinks of his future son and daughter, which is a happy thought, compared what he is experiencing in the bunker. In the second, as a child Billy experiences probably his first memories of what war does to people. His mother says, “all those men out there who died had mothers just like you…I was thinking about what it would be like if I lost you.” This statement ties directly back to Mary O’Hare’s opinion towards Vonnegut writing this book and brings sadness to the reader. Then the third scene brings the emotion full circle when Billy cries over the dead child. Jessica was able to create these ties, just like Vonnegut does in his writing, which makes the unconventional somewhat scattered discourse easier to follow.
We learn from Vonnegut that it is important for readers to be open to unconventional discourse. This book would not be the masterpiece that it is if the story of Billy Pilgrim was told from beginning to end with the events all written in order. We also learn that it is important that all the pieces be tied together to make sense. In my opinion, that’s the difference between Burroughs and Vonnegut. Burroughs has all these random incidences and stories put together in a novel, and to me there aren’t any ties between them. Vonnegut also jumps around, but the ties make the novel have a plot that the reader can follow and relate to.
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