A Lighter Way to Enjoy Chocolate

Throughout the text of Slaughterhouse-five, Three Musketeers Candy Bars and the heroic story of the Three Musketeers are mentioned multiple times. As I analyzed the usage of the words, they could be directly related to different aspects of Dumas’s world-renowned novel. Slaughterhouse-five has many similarities and differences than The Three Musketeers, and once these comparisons are noticed, the true meaning of Vonnegut’s anti-war novel comes to life. The first usage of “Three Musketeers” is on page 12 describing the reporter, who is eating a Three Musketeers Candy Bar. This occurs during Vonnegut’s introduction, in which he decides how to write his book and what exactly should it be about. The writing style of this book is very similar to Dumas’s novel, which has been described as modern and conversational prose, therefore, making it an easy read. In addition, Dumas did not provide the history and setting before the story; the story has history in the background as the story progresses, and is an entertaining read. This is also the case in Slaughterhouse-five. The second, third, fourth, and fifth usage of the word occurs on pages 53-54. Since Vonnegut used this word four times in two pages, he is obviously trying to get a message across to the readers. Although the three men refer to themselves as the “Three Musketeers,” their story could not be any more different from the original The Three Musketeers. First, the memorable quote from The Three Musketeers, “All for one; one for all” does not take effect with the “Three Musketeers” in Slaughterhouse-five. Also, they are selfish and dishonest when it came to their fellow musketeers. The last reference to “Three Musketeer Candy Bars” is on page 136. Billy Pilgrim’s fiancée is eating one as he lies in his hospital bed. In Dumas’s novel, although it is a Romance, at the end of the novel, he rejects Romantic values. Slaughterhouse-five is similar in the aspect that Vonnegut’s novel is a war novel, but in the end, because of the rejection of the typical war stories and the values of war that America seems to uphold, the book is an anti-war novel that achieves its goal.