Alternative discourse has become more and more of an acceptable form of writing as time has passed. Although the real controversy lies in its use for essays and assignments by students, its use in fiction is equally as important; specifically, the use of alternative discourse in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse Five.
Slaughterhouse Five is by no means written in a traditional way. There are multiple aspects of Vonnegut's novel that would fall under the category of "alternative discourse." I think that "Time Magazine's" description of Vonnegut's writing style is most excellent when they say that "Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer a zany but moral mad scientist." This illustrates Vonnegut and his discourse perfectly. He uses a different and new way of getting his point across, but he does, however, get his point across and does so beautifully.
Vonnegut's point is this: Be kind, don't hurt. His story revolves around Billy Pilgrim who is a World War II veteran and an obstetrician. Billy has come "unstuck" in time. Meaning he finds himself traveling throughout different points within his own life uncontrollably. The majority of the book takes place during World War II, Billy's time spent as a prisoner of war in Germany, and on the planet Tralfamadore (where Billy was taken after being abducted by aliens, or "Tralfamadorians"). Vonnegut uses these two separate, and very different, settings to get his point across.
Generally, when a person hears "aliens" they normally think to themselves: "Oh, I see. Another trashy science fiction novel," but this is where Vonnegut is different. He uses a somewhat silly idea to translate a very serious message. Included in Tralfamadore and the Tralfamadorians is a sub-theme - fatalism. Fatalism is the idea that all events are predetermined by fate and are therefore unable to be changed by human beings.
