Chapter 10, Part 2

At the end of chapter ten, a bird says to Billy, "Poo-tee-weet." This also occurred in the first chapter, as did the fact that there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. I believe that the "poo-tee-weet" symbolizes the fact that it is just as senseless as talking about war. Even though they are meaningless, they still exist and probably always will.

Chapter 10, Motif

Throughout chapter ten, there are many more deaths. After Vonnegut mentions a death, he always uses the phrase, "So it goes." For example, when he speaks of his fathers death, he says, "My father died many years ago now- of natural causes. So it goes" (210). There is a great deal of death throughout the novel, and therefore the phrase is repeated many times. I believe that the phrase is used to portray the fact that life goes on and that death is inevitable. In chapter ten, there is also an end to the war, and a point where Billy is thankful for the happy times in his life, even though he found most of it meaningless.

Chapter 9, Part 2

The incident in chapter nine with Valencia, made me think of how fast moving our society is today. We often do not stop to fully think about what is going on or about our own actions, instead we just try to hurry through them. Sometimes though, it is necessary to stop and think and fully process what is going on around us. I believe that this patience is lacked in our society today.

Chapter 9, Motivation

Valencia's motivation behind her frantic behanvior at the beginning of chapter nine, was her husband, Billy, being in the hospital after the plane crash. When Valencia finally reached the hospital, she passed out from carbon monoxide fumes that had leaked into the car, and, "one hour later she was dead. So it goes" (183). Meanwhile, Billy is in the hospital and his daughter has a live-in nurse stay with him when he is released. He sneaks out of his house one day and goes to Times Square to preach the philosophy of the Tralfamadorians. After this point on, more and more people begin to question his sanity.

Chapter 8, Part 2

When Billy leaves the party to be alone, it is very clear how upset he is. He is so upset, because the song that the barbershop quartet evoked the memory of the Dresden bombings in his mind. This reminded me of how hearing a song, seeing a certain person, or even a smell can bring back a memory and the emotions felt when that memory was made. Sometimes the emotions and memories that are brought back are so strong that they can deeply move us.

Chapter 8, Round Character

Throughout the book, I find Billy to be a round character, but I believe that it is very evident in chapter eight. Billy is very dynamic depending on which time in his life that he is reliving. For example, when the barbershop quartet, The Febs, play at Billy's eighteenth wedding anniversary, he becomes very upset. He goes upstairs, away from the party, to be alone and thinks about the night of the destruction of Dresden. Although he "did not travel in time to the experience," he only remembers it as a memory (177). He remebers the terror of the seeing Dresden left in pieces, and becomes even more upset. He then time travels to Tralfamadore where Montana Wildhack is six months pregnant and waiting on him. He tells her the story of the destruction of Dresden. Billy is a round character throughout this chapter, because his mood changes throughout the chapter as well as his emotions.

Chapter 7, Part 2

At the end of chapter 7, when Billy gave Derby a lollipop and he burst into tears, it reminded me of how we often take so many things for granted every single day. We really do not realize how much we take for granted every single day. Derby was so happy that he cried tears of joy over a single lollipop, because he had been deprived of such things for so long. This also made me think of how sometimes, it is the smallest things in life that make us happy.

Chapter 7, Situational Irony

Situational irony is evident throughout chapter 7. It is especially evident when, "The barbershop quartet on the airplane was singing 'Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nelly,' when the plane smacked into the top of Sugarbush Mountains in Vermont" (156). This is ironic, because a cheerful song was being sung as the plane crashed. It was also ironic that only Billy and the copilot survived, and that German speaking ski instructors found them in Vermont. Even though Billy knew the plane would crash, it was still ironic, because the mood of the story was somewhat happy right before the plane crashes. It was also ironic that Billy knew the plane was going to crash, and still allowed himself and his father-in-law to board the plane.

Chapter 6, part 2

What most stood out to me in chapter six, was the concept of revenge. Revenge is a negative aspect that is present in every culture, whether it is intentional or not. If someone hurts/disrespect another person, that person or other people involved may go after them and try to get them back. It is unfortunate that this has become such a big part of cultures all over the world.

Chapter 6, Tone

The tone of the chapter is changed to dark and sinister, when Paul Lazzaro comes into the scene. As soon as Lazzaro comes into the story again, he starts speaking of revenge and murder. One of the first things that Lazzaro says in this scene is, "Anybody touches me, he better kill me, or i'm gonna have him killed" (138). Lazzaro deals with the people who he does not like by having them killed as he explains later on in the chapter. He only speaks of murder and how he believes that revenge is the sweetest thing in life. The mood is immediately changed whenever Paul Lazzaro enters the scene.

Chapter 5, Imagery

Vonnegut uses imagery throughout chapter five. For example, when Billy says, "The creatures can see where each star has been and where it is going, so that the heavens are filled with rarefied, luminous spaghetti. And Tralfamadorians don't see human beings as two-legged creatures, either. They see them as great millepedes- 'with babies' legs at one end and old people's legs at the other,'" it is very easy for me to visualize earth as the Tralfamadorians do (87). He also uses imagery when he says, "He delivered himself to a barbed-wire fence which snagged him in a dozen places. Billy tried to back away from it, but the barbs wouldn't let go" (123). This statement evokes the sense of pain that Billy must have felt when he was caught in the barbwire. Vonnegut does a great job of evoking images and feelings of the reader throughout chapter five through his use of imagery.

Chapter 4, part 2

Throughout this chapter, I was reminded of the concept of time and fate. I was especially reminded of the concept of fate when the Tralfamadorians say, "Why anything? Because this moment simply is" (76). This chapter made it seem as though everything that happened to Billy, was already predetermined before it actually happened to him. Therefore, it was silly to the Tralfamadorians that he even questioned why this was happening to him.

Chapter 4, Symbol

I believe that the Tralfamadorians who capture Billy are a symbol of the fact that war is inevitable. Billy does not know why the Tralfamadorians abducted him, he just knows that it is happening. He cannot change the fact that they have abducted him, but it is indeed happening. When he asks why him, the Tralfamadorians reply and say, "That is a very Earthling question to ask... Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is" (76). I think the Tralfamadorians are trying to say that humans always wonder "why me?" when instead we should either accept what it is happening or try to change it. As long as there is hate and evil in the world, then there will always be war and this is why it is inevitable. So instead of wondering why, we should be active and try to positively change.

Chapter 5, part 2

Chapter five made me think of the movie/book, The Time Traveler's Wife. In the movie/book, The Time Traveler's Wife, a man tries to manage using his ability to time travel and to have a family at the same time. I made the connection of this movie/book and chapter 5, because throughout the chapter, Billy time travels through his flash backs but always ends up waking back up next to his wife at the end of each one. This happens just as it happens throughout the book/movie, The Time Traveler's Wife. 
                                          

Chapter 3, part 2

Billy is not happy with his life, although he has a successful business, a family, and a nice home. It is as though life is meaningless to him, and he is just existing rather than actually living. I believe that this portrays the concept that being wealthy is not the key to true happiness. Billy has enough money to access his and his families needs and beyond, yet he is not satisfied with himself, and therefore he cannot be happy. Billy feels as though he has no control over his life or the choices that have come with it. In order for a person to be happy, they need to have control and stability over their own life. Control and stability are two qualities that Billy lacks.

Chapter 3, Irony

There is irony in the plaque that hangs in Billy's office that reads, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference." There is irony in this quote, because Billy cannot change his past, although he keeps having flashbacks in an attempt to understand what has happened in his past. It is also ironic that the prayer "expressed his method for keeping going," because Billy is unenthusiastic about his life and the fact that he is still living (60). 

Chapter 2, part 2

All of the trauma Billy experienced throughout his life is probably the reason he has his flashbacks and why he is constantly trying to make sense of it. The events that happen in a person's life can account for the person that they become and how they act. I first came to realize this through one of my close friends. As harsh as it may sound, he does not have sympathy for others and does not like to talk about his feelings, nor does he show many emotions. I always wondered why he acted this way, but when I found out more about his life, I realized that it was because of the trauma he experienced throughout his own life. I believe this situation is very similar to Billy's situation, in the way that Billy has been through so many traumatic things that it sometimes leads him to have dramatic actions. What Billy has experienced throughout his life, explains in itself why he does the things that he does.

Chapter 2- Protagonist

Chapter 2 makes it evident that Billy, the protagonist, has been through much trauma throughout his life. For example, he fought in World War II, he had a nervous collapse, lost his wife, and endured a plane crash. The trauma that Billy has gone through, may be one of the reasons that he experiences his "flashbacks." Billy is, "spastic in time [and] has no control over where he is going next..." during his flashbacks (23). Billy's flashbacks may also account for him trying to make sense of his own life. These flashbacks allow the reader to understand the entirety of Billy's life, because they are not in order and highlight some of the biggest events that occurred throughout his lifespan.

Chapter 1. External Conflict.

The first chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five helped me to become familiar with and identify some of the characters in the story. Vonnegut introduces many characters in the first chapter, as well as himself. He introduces his old friend from the war, Bernard O'Hare, as well as Bernard's wife, Mary. I was also able to identify an external conflict in the first chapter. When Vonnegut says, "Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds," he is expressing his feelings of the war. He expresses the conflict that society faces after a masacre, by explaining that after a war, no one knows exactly how to feel. There is sadness of course, but there is also the feeling of "what now?" People do not always know how to react to situations such as these, and it can often change a person completely, just as in some ways, Vonnegut was changed.

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