Throughout this entire book, we find symbols or
connections to when or maybe why Billy Pilgrim time travels. We find a lot of
symbols like the candle light, water and even people help him move from time to time. He connects the feelings
of people he loved or places he has been before.
In Slaughterhouse-five, Kurt Vonnegut is writing
about his life. He uses his book to express his feelings and ideas of past. While reading this book, I find it odd how Billy time travels to the past
but relates all to the future. Throughout the book, the people and places he
introduced all connect back to a “memory”. For example, his daughter is a
big character in the story. She comes into the story a few times. In the
beginning of the story we see that she is taking care of her father. Later in
the book, in chapter 3, Billy tells us of the night before her wedding, the
alien Tralfmdorians plan to come take him away. Why do you think Billy pilgrim thinks
they take him away the night of Barbra’s wedding?
Another symbols, Kurt Vonnegut adds to the book is
the bird. Throughout the book the only big event the bird comes in is at the
end of the book. Kurt Vonnegut adds the end in the first chapter to make the
reader think. What does a bird cheapening have to do with the story? Every metaphor,
connection and symbol in this book is presented the same throughout the book.
While Billy Pilgrim is traveling through time, he connections
points through times in my own life. Why do you think Billy makes connections
to hard times like war or at home? When Billy time travels he usually goes to
his “happy place." Just like if a little kid is getting a shot from a needle, they
think of something happy and look the other way.
As I'm reading this book, it reminds me of a big
allusion. What is real and what is all in Billy’s heads? Billy is time jumping through the past,
present and future and shares important moments that happened to him throughout
his life. Piece by piece we pick up and connect the pieces like a puzzle. He is
sharing his life in different parts of his life. He connects each story to a
different event in his life. It’s as if he is telling us
What is the
significance of these metaphors? Why didn’t Kurt Vonnegut write the book in
order of Billy’s life?
I think the reason this book isn't written in sequential order is for 'wow' factor. Like I honestly don't think there's a deeper meaning. I know people enjoy over analyzing every single detail about books because they want to believe author's like Vonnegut are these deep and trouble guys who are so wise beyond their years when in all actuality they're nothing but a bunch of drunks. Slaughter House Five is a book that goes out of it's way to seem so deep but it's actually just like every other war book out there. There's no 'real' deeper meaning to why this book is written out of order. It just is. And I'm not try to be a pessimist. Just a realist.
ReplyDeleteThrough out the book, I think Kurt wanted to have us intrigued. In order to do that, I think he used the symbolic elements, and the motifs. This book really made us think hard about everything. I agree with Bianca that it is pretty much just like any other war book, but was more complicated. Kurt put himself in throughout the book to keep reminding people that it was his war story. I honestly think it is a brilliant thing for him to do.
ReplyDeleteFollowing one of your questions in one of your last paragraphs I think the war timeline is what is real (plot wise) in the story and the other time jumps are just him trying to escape where he is at the moment while in war
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