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?
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