Slaughter house 5 blog entry 9

"They were noticing what the Americans had not noticed-that the horses' mouths were bleeding... The Americans had treated their form of transportation as though it were no more sensitive than a six-cylinder Chevrolet." Page 196 This quote seems to touch on tue stereotype that Americans aren't conscious of their environment, and sometimes malicious towards it. The Americans are oblivious to the injury of the horse. It cM be said that Americans are oblivious to many things. One thing is our national debt. It is 15.3 trillion dollars, and drastic measures to reduce this debt bubbles are not only at the front of our political discourse, but are rather apathetically thrown aside. This fact of American unawareness has earned some aware and responsible Anericans to be unfairly labeled.

Slaughter house 5 blog entry 8

"He got a few paragraphs into it, and then he realized that he had read it before- years ago, in the veterans' hospital.  It was about an Earthling man and woman who were kidnapped by extra-terrestrials." Page 203 Here is another instance of parralellism between Billy's story and Kilgore's story. Billy is kidnapped and sent to a zoo on an alien planet to be looked at in awe by strange creatures. This parallels one of Trout's storys. The similarity ends there. Trout admits that his works are works of fiction, meant only to be read on the light of fictional awareness. Billy, though, maintains that he is telling a factual story. This is all well and good, but Billy lacks empirical evidence. He may sound convincing and thorough in his accounts of how stories, but that is not enough. Tangible proof is needed.

Slaughter House 5 blog entry 7

"Billy and Lazzaro and poor old Edgar Derby crossed the prison yard to the theater now." page 143 I notices the epithet used when speaking of Derby. He is poor old Edgar derby. Why? He is an old Man. Primarily, though, the title reminds the reader of his death. We know that he will doe in Dresden, and the "poor" adjective invokes sorrow. It makes Derby innocent. This is also a bit of dramatic irony. We know a major part of his life, his death. We know where and when it occurs. Derby of course is unaware. Perhaps it makes us more sympathetic towards him because he is blindsided by death.

Slaughter house 5 blog entry 6

"it predicted the wide spread use of burning jellied gasoline on humans.". Page 168 I mentioned earlier that I believe events in Billys life are textually based in Trouts sci fi novels. First, there is the novel about fourth dimension creatures. This is reflected in the tralfamadorians. Another similarity is found in one of Trouts books, the gutless wanderer. The book describes the use of jellied gasoline on human beings from planes. This obviously connects the fire bombings present throughout the war. The main example is Dresden. I stick by the conjecture that Billy is delusional, and heavily influenced by the works of Kilgore Trout.

Slaughter House Five blog entry 5

"They could look at a peak or a cloud or a bird, at a stone right in front of them, or even down into a canyon behind them."page 115

I have to say, I enjoy the science fiction aspects of the novel.  Extraterrestrial life fascinates me, and it is especially enjoyable to imagine the tralfamadorians and their world. I especially am interested in their perception of time.  Time is not chronological to them; they see all time at once.  I have never pictured time in this regard.  I have always had the "arrow of time" explanation of time in my mind.  I suspect Billy is really fond of this way of perceiving time, as it completely discourages an attitude of sorrow towards death.  Death, which Billy has seen so much of in the war, is probably enormously scary to him.  With the tralfamadorian interpretation of time, Billy can feel undaunted when approached with death.

Slaughter House Five blog entry 4

"'You seem older than the rest'" page 106

Derby and Billy are foil characters.  Billy is young and innocent, and fights as a wandering child in the war, against his will (He was drafted).  Derby is older and mature, and volunteered for service.  Billy is tall and weak, with an awkward, unimpressive body.  Derby is said to have a "good body," fit for service.  Derby is strong willed, unlike Billy, who often wants to give up.  Another contrast is that Derby dies, and Billy survives.  This is ironic. The good soldier ends up dead, while the assistant chaplain survives. Billy seems to survive events, while others die (the plane crash).  Perhaps, though, the brave soldier, Derby, got the better end of the stick.  Is it better to live with the constant mental torment caused from seeing tragedy to such an extent, or is it better to die, and not have to experience crippling depression and reoccurring nightmares of war horrors?

Slaughter House Five blog entry 3

"He came slightly unstuck in time, saw the late movie backwards, then forwards"  page 74

Vonnegut's anti-war mentality is present when Billy watches the war movie backwards.  Suddenly, the harsh reality of the war is reversed, and we see the war from a new perspective.  There are no Germans heavily bombing and killing human beings, but rather  German fighters "made everything and everybody as good as new."  There is horrible machinery of war, infamously bombs used in raids, being dismantled and there is separating of "dangerous contents into minerals." The direction of war is reversed and a better society is built in the process.  I believe Vonnegut is stressing the need for this to happen.  He wants war to cease and society to progress past senseless killing.  He wants to see humans helping each other, and holding a genuine desire to uphold the common good.