Why is war an accepted means by which nations resolve problems? Why is the death of so many lives, homes, lands, and of all things peaceful an accepted societal norm? “Do you know what I say to people when I hear they're writing anti-war books? ... I say, "Why don't you write an anti-glacier book instead?" Vonnegut has one of his characters say this in his satirical novel that takes a stance against wars. Being a Veteran himself, Vonnegut sheds some light on what war really does to humanity through the eyes of his protagonist Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut’s anti war values are so strong that he has Billy, an optometrist suffering from PTS, enlighten his audience. Billy believes he is “unstuck in time” and at any given moment can visit a moment in his past or future.Even with his distorted mind, Billy Pilgrim’s life and his time traveling abilities help the audience see the error of the world in having wars and the effects it can have on humanity.
“All this happened, more or less.” Satire is very apparent in Vonnegut’s novel; therefore, he creates a unique bond with his audience. Vonnegut even addresses to his audience that they are reading a book, which not only “breaks the fourth wall”, but also causes the audience to acknowledge that what they are reading, though it may be fictional, are still the realities of life. His cameos and vulgar language and depiction of the war spares no details to the viewpoint of humanity Vonnegut gained as a veteran. Constructing a benign, amiable, oblivious character, Billy Pilgrim, Vonnegut attempts to show how war can pollute humans who are “just babies”. The scene in which Vonnegut has a cameo in his book and inquires upon his friend, O’Hare, about their war memories, his friends wife comes in making a ruckus. Through this scene Vonnegut demonstrates how the common people view wars. They are the people who send their sons, husbands, and fathers to war. They are the ones who are left with nothing but a disheveled mind and way of living. O’Hare’s wife complains to Vonnegut how men are just babies, how war is just a convoluted game by diabolic men. Vonnegut uses this scene as a pivotal point in introducing his anti war themes in his novel.
“And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.” The state of being moral, of being human is a value Vonnegut plays on in his novel. Being human relates to doing immoral things and not being perfect. Vonnegut works strategically to tie this into his novel. One main idea this novel entertains is the idea of free will. Do humans have a free will or are they already on a predetermined path to destruction? In this viewpoint Vonnegut strives to show his audience that war does not have a victor or a loser; he does not attribute the war to the victory or defeat of either the Germans, Japanese, or Americans. To Vonnegut, they all lose, simply because they are all human, and the world is where we all dwell as mankind. The phrase Vonnegut uses to tie all of these ideas together is, “so it goes”. While repetitive to use, Vonnegut says this after a death has happened in his novel. The undermining of this phrase appears to do the opposite of what it is intended to do. While the phrase is so simple, and some may think it is inconsiderate to say after a death, it forces Vonnegut’s audience to question “why does life goes this way?”.
A powerful illustration of the chaos war leaves upon the human mind is illustrated by the character Billy Pilgrim. This character can be a symbol to some to represent a PTS mindset, but Billy Pilgrim appears to do more than just represent this disorder. Billy’s mind has conjured up a coping mechanism for his PTS. While Tralfamadorians may seem all the more real to Billy, they are most likely nonexistent in reality. The idea of time travel appears to be skeptical from the beginning for most of Vonnegut’s readers, and therefore causes the audience to focus on and analyze Billy’s claims of interacting with Tralfamadorians. With this critical view, one can see that the Tralfamadorians share many similarities to the disasters of war. The Tralfamadorians hold Billy hostage in a zoo, much like POW are held captive by their enemies. Billy mates with Montana Wildhack, which shows the primitive and revealing nature of war, similar to the experience Billy had in Germany where he was forced to shower with the other POW. Such extended metaphors such as this are what make Vonnegut’s novel so unique.
Overall, Slaughterhouse Five is a unique stance on anti war views that I would recommend people to read. WHile unpopular to some because of its unusual structure, jumping from past events to future to present, the novel serves its purpose of portraying the jumbled mind of a veteran. It also successfully portrays the disheveled mind of not only those who fought in the war, but also of the world in general, as it shows through its unorderly structure how the world is not clean cut and orderly. It has been tainted with by war and destruction, and the aftermath leaves society with a contemplative mind much like the bird Vonnegut ends the novel with, that says, “Poo-tee-weet?” Which is a senseless remark that has no meaning, much like the aftermath of a war leaves its specters with.
“All this happened, more or less.” Satire is very apparent in Vonnegut’s novel; therefore, he creates a unique bond with his audience. Vonnegut even addresses to his audience that they are reading a book, which not only “breaks the fourth wall”, but also causes the audience to acknowledge that what they are reading, though it may be fictional, are still the realities of life. His cameos and vulgar language and depiction of the war spares no details to the viewpoint of humanity Vonnegut gained as a veteran. Constructing a benign, amiable, oblivious character, Billy Pilgrim, Vonnegut attempts to show how war can pollute humans who are “just babies”. The scene in which Vonnegut has a cameo in his book and inquires upon his friend, O’Hare, about their war memories, his friends wife comes in making a ruckus. Through this scene Vonnegut demonstrates how the common people view wars. They are the people who send their sons, husbands, and fathers to war. They are the ones who are left with nothing but a disheveled mind and way of living. O’Hare’s wife complains to Vonnegut how men are just babies, how war is just a convoluted game by diabolic men. Vonnegut uses this scene as a pivotal point in introducing his anti war themes in his novel.
“And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.” The state of being moral, of being human is a value Vonnegut plays on in his novel. Being human relates to doing immoral things and not being perfect. Vonnegut works strategically to tie this into his novel. One main idea this novel entertains is the idea of free will. Do humans have a free will or are they already on a predetermined path to destruction? In this viewpoint Vonnegut strives to show his audience that war does not have a victor or a loser; he does not attribute the war to the victory or defeat of either the Germans, Japanese, or Americans. To Vonnegut, they all lose, simply because they are all human, and the world is where we all dwell as mankind. The phrase Vonnegut uses to tie all of these ideas together is, “so it goes”. While repetitive to use, Vonnegut says this after a death has happened in his novel. The undermining of this phrase appears to do the opposite of what it is intended to do. While the phrase is so simple, and some may think it is inconsiderate to say after a death, it forces Vonnegut’s audience to question “why does life goes this way?”.
A powerful illustration of the chaos war leaves upon the human mind is illustrated by the character Billy Pilgrim. This character can be a symbol to some to represent a PTS mindset, but Billy Pilgrim appears to do more than just represent this disorder. Billy’s mind has conjured up a coping mechanism for his PTS. While Tralfamadorians may seem all the more real to Billy, they are most likely nonexistent in reality. The idea of time travel appears to be skeptical from the beginning for most of Vonnegut’s readers, and therefore causes the audience to focus on and analyze Billy’s claims of interacting with Tralfamadorians. With this critical view, one can see that the Tralfamadorians share many similarities to the disasters of war. The Tralfamadorians hold Billy hostage in a zoo, much like POW are held captive by their enemies. Billy mates with Montana Wildhack, which shows the primitive and revealing nature of war, similar to the experience Billy had in Germany where he was forced to shower with the other POW. Such extended metaphors such as this are what make Vonnegut’s novel so unique.
Overall, Slaughterhouse Five is a unique stance on anti war views that I would recommend people to read. WHile unpopular to some because of its unusual structure, jumping from past events to future to present, the novel serves its purpose of portraying the jumbled mind of a veteran. It also successfully portrays the disheveled mind of not only those who fought in the war, but also of the world in general, as it shows through its unorderly structure how the world is not clean cut and orderly. It has been tainted with by war and destruction, and the aftermath leaves society with a contemplative mind much like the bird Vonnegut ends the novel with, that says, “Poo-tee-weet?” Which is a senseless remark that has no meaning, much like the aftermath of a war leaves its specters with.