Modal structure in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five

Abstract

The article analyses modal structure (tense, polarity) in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five within the framework of Systemic-Functional Grammar. The analysis of the Mood element shows the prevailing pattern to be past positive; the use of present tenses embodies Vonnegut's specific non-linear concept of time. Similarly, the absence of negative polarity builds the deterministic belief that pervades the novel.