Time is mentioned often throughout Slaughterhouse 5. Vonnegut introduced the Tralfamadorians with a multitude of meanings, one of them to convey his views of time. As humans, we see in 3- dimensions, and find it hard to understand a world where time is interchangeable. Through Billy's PTSD, the reader is able to see how for some soldiers time does become interchangeable, because they will always be stuck in war. Those moments when they fought, never go away.
"...they could see in four-dimensions... They had many wonderful things to teach the Earthlings, especially about time," (p. 26)
After thinking about this for awhile before finishing the book, I began to think about what the Tralfamadorians said about death. Using what the aliens ideas were, I started to piece different parts of the story together, and came up with the prediction that Billy may already be dead - and is reliving his "good" moments. Then again, is Billy ever really dead in accordance with what the Tralfamadorians say? Different concepts of time can completely change the way the story is viewed. What do you think Vonnegut's overall message about time and our perception of it is?
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Memories
Through the duration of slaughterhouse five we see a pattern of reliving vivid memories through Billy. As he puts it on page " He is in a constant state of stage fright, he says, because he never knows what part of his life he is going to have to act in next." This seems to show that he has developed a form of dementia, reliving his memories in painful detail. However not all of the memories are painful, some are spent in a zoo on the alien planet where he is in good care.
"Where did you go this time? It wasn't the war. I can tell that, too."
This quote shows that Billy lives in his normal world while experiencing his memories overlapping. Much like how the Tralfamadorians overlap his reality. It is my belief that he made the Tralfamadorians to be people who would take him away from the harm of his world and put him in a cozy environment where he was the center of attention and was loved by all. I considered this to be Billy's "Happy Place" This cozy place most likely was a package deal with the dementia that came with his severe traumatic brain injury that took place after the crash in Vermont. I found it a very thoughtful insight into Billy's character by being able to see his figments of imagination.
"Where did you go this time? It wasn't the war. I can tell that, too."
This quote shows that Billy lives in his normal world while experiencing his memories overlapping. Much like how the Tralfamadorians overlap his reality. It is my belief that he made the Tralfamadorians to be people who would take him away from the harm of his world and put him in a cozy environment where he was the center of attention and was loved by all. I considered this to be Billy's "Happy Place" This cozy place most likely was a package deal with the dementia that came with his severe traumatic brain injury that took place after the crash in Vermont. I found it a very thoughtful insight into Billy's character by being able to see his figments of imagination.
So It Goes
One of the clear repetitions in the novel is the small statement of "so it goes," at any given point in the book. Yet, this simple often used sentence only appears when the subject of someones death arises. Vonnegut's use of repetition in the book enforces how often and unchangeable death is in a situation of war, or times of peace.
"It killed everybody on the gun crew but Weary. So it goes," (p. 35)
"...his wife died accidentally of carbon-monoxide poisoning. So it goes," (p. 25)
Having said earlier in the book, that the narrator had difficulty finding words to describe what he had seen in the war, it can be assumed that includes death. So many people were dying in an almost constant rate. With that much death surrounding someone, it becomes almost normal, a simple thing, "so it goes," in the everyday routine. What other aspects if war did the soldiers become numb to?
"It killed everybody on the gun crew but Weary. So it goes," (p. 35)
"...his wife died accidentally of carbon-monoxide poisoning. So it goes," (p. 25)
Having said earlier in the book, that the narrator had difficulty finding words to describe what he had seen in the war, it can be assumed that includes death. So many people were dying in an almost constant rate. With that much death surrounding someone, it becomes almost normal, a simple thing, "so it goes," in the everyday routine. What other aspects if war did the soldiers become numb to?
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Can you truly leave the war?
The novel tells us that Billy Pilgrim was there in Dresden during the firebombing, and was a part of the rest of the war. The novel also shows that he has, to some degree, PTSD. When the plane he was on crashed in Vermont, he was conscious but had brain damage and a cracked skull. He thought that the people who were rescuing him and the copilot were part of the war and that he was still in the war. In response to that thought, he gave them his address for the war; Slaughterhouse Five.
"Billy thought the golliwog had something to do with World War Two, and he whispered to him his address: 'Schlachthof-fünf.' " (pg. 156)
This is a subtle way for the author to tell of his and Billy's PTSD and their feeling of never fully leaving the war. In some way, not physically but mentally, they will always be in World War Two. When Billy gave the golliwog his address of the slaughterhouse, it was an instinct from the war. Earlier on in the novel the narrator said that Billy was told, along with the other prisoners of war, that if anything happens to them their slaughterhouse address. In a way, Billy as well as other soldiers who fought in war still have a small piece of them that is still in the war. Maybe that piece of them will never completely come home from war.
"Billy thought the golliwog had something to do with World War Two, and he whispered to him his address: 'Schlachthof-fünf.' " (pg. 156)
This is a subtle way for the author to tell of his and Billy's PTSD and their feeling of never fully leaving the war. In some way, not physically but mentally, they will always be in World War Two. When Billy gave the golliwog his address of the slaughterhouse, it was an instinct from the war. Earlier on in the novel the narrator said that Billy was told, along with the other prisoners of war, that if anything happens to them their slaughterhouse address. In a way, Billy as well as other soldiers who fought in war still have a small piece of them that is still in the war. Maybe that piece of them will never completely come home from war.
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