I think any author, dead or presently living, would very happy if his plays were being studied. Likewise, I believe that Vonnegut would also be very happy if his best work, Slaughterhouse Five, on which he so diligently worked on for years, is being read in senior high school classes throughout North America decades after being published. This means that his efforts to spread the message of the dangers and atrocities of war, that he experienced firsthand and tried so hard to portray to the public, did not go in vain. For this reason, I think he would be very happy.
However, I believe that he would be especially proud of our blogging project. The reason for that would that we are using the most modern means of communication to share our own original thoughts and ideas on the novel. Vonnegut was a pragmatist, and this revolutionary way of studying his work would impress him because we are extending our ideas inspired by his classic work beyond the classroom and sharing them with the world.
Another reason Vonnegut would be impressed by this project is that his book is being critiqued by common, everyday students, not elitist New York Times critics. This is because Vonnegut wrote the book for people like us, so we could get a better perception of the world around us and share the new ideas we acquire from the book with people around us.
I also think that Vonnegut would also be very proud of Mr. Lynn for empowering us with the tool of opinion by introducing us to the world of blogging. The idea that ordinary people like us can share our thoughts with thousands of individuals worldwide would be truly remarkable to Vonnegut. Vonnegut would be especially proud of this teaching style because it allows the student to uncover different themes and aspects of the book on his own, giving him the opportunity to synthesize his own ideas and discuss them with his/her peers. By doing this, a student may be able to look at the book from unique perspectives that not even the writer may have realized.
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