An Advantageous Comparison
It can take an impressive amount of time to write a novel. Supposedly, it took Edward Gibbon 20 years to write Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Knowing how much work and effort can be put into producing a book, it seems almost nefarious to disrespect an accomplishment like this. Which is exactly what Charles McCarthy, a school board member at Drake High School, did. McCarthy found the themes in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five to be inappropriate and in response, burned the copies of the book. Kurt Vonnegut, the author of said book, was naturally upset about this ordeal. In response, he sent a letter to McCarthy as an attempt to explain to him why he disagrees with his method of disposing his books. Vonnegut was able to make his argument more persuasive by deliberately making McCarthy seem presumptuous.…show more content… In the fifth paragraph of his letter, Vonnegut describes himself to be a virtuous person who is trusted with and by young people. So much, that he as served on the faculties of the University of Iowa, Harvard, and the City College of New York. By including this information, Vonnegut displays how unjustified McCarthy’s speculations of him are. McCarthy is now deemed as reprehensible indefensible, since people are more likely to agree with someone who seems honorable.
Likewise, Vonnegut mentions how he has not gained anything from the ordeal. In fact, Vonnegut and his publisher did their best to not make the situation any worse. By doing this, they are acting as the bigger person. By writing about this magnanimity, Vonnegut exhibits that he is willing to be mature about the situation. This only amplifies how immature and juvenile McCarthy acted. This also demonstrates how Vonnegut was the true victim of the situation since he received no benefits, making McCarthy the true
