The Gutless Wonder

I believe Vonnegut inserted a segment of Trout's book, The Gutless Wonder, to show satire in American values. Vonnegut is showing the futility of humans. The robots in The Gutless Wonder is not accepted in the human society because of the horrible breath they have. Once the bad breath is treated, humans accept them. It is shocking that the humans accept the robots because the robots are conducting very violent actions. The robots drop burning gasoline on the humans from airplanes not knowing the harm they are inflecting on the humans. The robots do not the harm they are causing because they have no conscience. The humans find this to be okay because the robots resemble humans and conduct humanly actions. The humans are willing to accept the robots into their society, and ignore their acts of violence as long as they have acceptable social manners.

Hunter Warren

When Montana Wildhack asks Billy to tell her a story, why does he launch into a war story, do you think? Why do we not get her reaction to the story?

“‘Tell me a story,’ Montana Wildhack said to Billy Pilgrim in the Tralfamadorian zoo one time.” (228) If anyone that has read an ounce of this book, they would automatically assume that Pilgrim will whip out ideas and thoughts pertaining to the bombing on Dresden. Because the war has mentally imprinted images, thoughts, and sounds into Billy’s head, he is unable to process and convey information to himself and others without relating to his past war experiences. It is very obvious that Pilgrim suffers with a case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Although it may not seem to affect him so much because he is used to it, I feel bad for the people around him that have to deal with his PTSD such as Wildhack. In this case, Wildhack is empty of sweets that a normal pregnant woman may want to have, so she asks Billy to tell her a story. Due to the fact that Billy is still caught up in his previous life, Wildhack is still free of what she wants to hear. She wants to hear a good story to get her mind off of the things that she wants. Because she is deprived of food and a good story, I feel as though Wildhack refrains from commenting on what Pilgrim has to say because she honestly has no emotions. Just as with anyone else, if you are deprived of absolutely everything you want, you may feel as though you have no emotions, therefore you may just want to go on with your day in silence just as Wildhack did in this portion of the book.

Drew Bowers - Question 1

At this point in the book, it appears to me that the story is begging to become a little dry. I think that the introduction of Campbell is a very minute, but an essential, part of the story. In my interpretation, Vonnegut introduces Campbell, and his wild and crazy plan, into the story because the characters need something to boost their morale at this point. They almost need something to make them laugh and at least let themselves know that they aren't the craziest ones in there as Mr. Campbell appears to be. Mr. Campbell introduces his “Free American Corps” plan, “You’re going to have to fight the communists sooner or later,” said Campbell, “Why not get it over with now?”. Withered and tiring away from working in the syrup factory all day, Billy Pillgram was not to into Campbell's proposition. Campbell was dressed head to toe in the most ridiculous fashion, as described in the book. I think that Vonnegut dresses Campbell so elaborately because the whole character of Campbell is so elaborate essentially. Campbell is an American who had become a Nazi, which that in itself is kinda crazy. Campbell’s whole entire plan is nuts, so it only fits that he looks the part too. He was also wanting to make it known that he was a converted Nazi by making sure that he was covered in swastikas. I think that all in all, Vonnegut put Campbell in the story to produce some kind of morale. However, in the end, this goal to produce some kind of morale is achieved when Derby decides to stand up and call Campbell out. He decided that Campbell was a “snake” but he later corrected himself because a snake was apparently to high of an honor for Campbell. As it was said by Vonnegut, “Poor old Derby, the doomed high school teacher, lumbered to his feet for what was probably the finest moment in his life.”

Steven Voigt - Q1

Howard Campbell was an interesting made-up character that represents all that is bad in war. He's an American who became a Nazi. Campbell is now trying to recruit men from the slaughterhouse to be a part of "The Free American Corps," which is supposed to fight only on the Russian front. One thing that stands out about Campbell is his extravagant uniform, "He was sheathed in a blue body stocking which had yellow stripes running from his armpits to his ankles." Vonnegut dressed Campbell in crazy clothes because the entire idea of this character is rediculous itself. His ideas about fighting the Russians make no sense because the Americans and Russians are allies. After Campbell gave his speech about fighting the Russians and joining "The Free American Corps," he did not get much response from the tired and sick croud. After a long pause, one man stood up to respond to Campbell's crazy ideas. Old man Derby explains to Campbell that every soldier there was willing to fight and die for the ideals of the American form of government. Derby spoke for everyone about the American and Russian brotherhood, and how they would overcome Nazism. I feel like Vonnegut introduced this Howard Campbell character in order to give the Americans some boost in morale. Old Derby's speach reiterates to the American soldiers that they are still fighting together to overcome the Nazis.

Why Money doesn't Grow on Trees...

On page 213, Vonnegut inserts a short dialogue between Trout and the newspaper girl during a meeting; this passage is used to convey Vonnegut’s most basic thoughts about war. The girl and Trout are having what seems like a meaningless conversation with each other. The girl asks Trout if she wins the competition, if she could bring along her sister to “Martha’s Vineyard”. He quickly responded with “Hell No, you think money grows on trees?” Billy explains to the reader the irony of that statement, as Trout had written a book about a tree that did actually grow money. Its leaves were “twenty dollar bills”, its flowers were “government bonds”, and its fruit was “diamonds”. In the book, Trout dictates that constant fighting occurs at the base of the tree; this results in the deaths of all who attempt to get near the tree. The remains of these attempts in turn rot in order to fertilize the tree. This is where Vonnegut’s true opinion on war can be applied. He makes a parallel between the tree in Trout’s book and the nature of mankind at war. Vonnegut hints this parallel on the previous page when talking about how familiar Trout looks to Billy. He even says Billy thinks he looks like a “prisoner of war”. The tree depicted in the book shows the irrational actions of humans when greed is involved. It is implied that not very many people get to reap the benefits of this magical tree, because they are too busy killing each other and fertilizing the tree. Rather than work together and have mutual gain from it, greed sets in and leads to the deaths of all the people going to the tree. This is how Vonnegut feels about war; people’s greed ends in countless deaths for no apparent reason. Instead of coexisting peacefully and having a successful planet, humans deem it necessary to kill each other mindlessly. On the same token these people are going to their deaths at the base of this tree all because of the rotten nature of mankind. Vonnegut makes a great parallel between Trout’s book and his opinions. He shows the intentions of the novel in a brilliant way in just a short passage.

response to question 9

Anna Aycock

response to question 9

Kurt Vonnegut writes a lot of details in describing Valencia’s car after she wrecks. He says that, “the gaping trunk looked like the mouth of a village idiot who was explaining that he didn’t know anything about anything” (234). How Billy acts is a lot like how the trunk of the beat up car looks. Both of these things: Billy and the now wrecked car have a lot in common. They are both said to be acting like a stranger in a new place. Billy is always going from place to place and never knowing where he will be next; Vonnegut makes many similarities between these two. He also states that, “The back window was veined with cracks” (234). Billy has a very difficult time in his life between time traveling and also the hardships that the war has caused on him. These have made him extremely similar to the cracked window. They are both flawed and imperfect but are just holding it together. The window is still intact but barely, Billy is barely holding it together also he has a hard time relating with the world especially because of his time traveling and being yanked from one time in his life to a totally different one. Vonnegut also talks about how the exhaust system is now totally disconnected from the rest of the car and is laying on the ground. This relates to Billy because it shows you that he has had a difficult time in his life and it is more difficult for him because he is being put through them it over and over again. Some people would say that Billy has a few bolts missing or that he is not completely sane, this might be true especially since he talks about aliens and believes in them. That is that he has imagined some things in life that may not be true but it is the way that he deals with all the horrible things that he has seen in his life and I do not think that I would handle it any better.

There Is No Greatness in Eternity

Wezly Barnard

Eternity lasts forever. This is a difficult concept to wrap one’s mind around, especially when in reality nobody can experience eternity. It is inevitable that human life has an ending. Vonnegut is not overjoyed with Billy Pilgrim’s Tralfamadorian perspective that humans live forever; because he believes there is great power in death. Vonnegut brings this point home with the mentioning of a few deceased greats. “Robert Kennedy, whose summer home is eight miles from the home I live in all year round, was shot two nights ago. He died last night.” Robert Kennedy is the first name Vonnegut mentions to illustrate his point. This is directly followed by a reference of another influential man. “Martin Luther King was shot a month ago. He died, too.” The fact that Vonnegut brought these two instances up immediately before he introduces the Tralfamadorians’ worldview indirectly shows us why he does not linger on the idea. Vonnegut uses names that have been remembered many years after their death. Although Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King are not living in the physical life anymore their name still live on. This shows that Vonnegut finds peace in the fact that he will not live forever. He will not have to live with his own memories and experiences. “If what Billy Pilgrim learned from the Trafalmadorians is true, that we will all live forever, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be, I am not overjoyed.” Vonnegut second major argument against this idea is described when he discusses Charles Darwin. “who taught that those who die are meant to die, that corpses are improvements.” This is an example of how things can be accomplished through death. He does not linger and is not overjoyed by this worldview because he understands the importance of death.

Money Tree

I think that the excerpt in the novel about the money tree is meant to invoke deep thoughts in Vonnegut's readers. I think that the money tree itself is a form of temptation to which most people would fall. This temptation leads to the death of many people in the story, so it goes. I think that the money tree is a symbol of a cause. I think the symbol of a cause relates to the cause of fighting that Billy Pilgrim goes through as a soldier.
Many people die as a result of cause and the effects of war on this world. Though the trees leaves are twenty dollar bills, its fruit is diamonds, many people who try to come to this tree end up fighting for no apparent reasons. Then, their fighting leads to the death of many people. These dead bodies that are at the base of the tree fertilize it, allowing the tree to put forth more leaves of twenty dollar bills, and more fruit of diamonds.
I think the symbol of the tree was included in Vonnegut's novel to show his perspective on war. As an anti-war novel, the symbol of the tree that everyone wants to get to, leads to death and destruction. We later find that if we only would wait, that the tree would produce much good if we chose to fertilize it and help it to grow and produce, instead of killing each other over the goods it has to offer. I think that Vonnegut strives to show his readers that if we could only try to help situations that might end in war first, without bombing and causing the deaths of millions of people, that we could all learn to live together peacefully, and all of us would gain from the experiences. If the people in the tree story would have worked together to supply the tree with adequate needs, they would have all been able to be happy in the end without the needless death and destruction that is caused by greed and misunderstandings.

Comparing Jesus and Billy

In Kurt Vonnegut’s book, Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim is portrayed to be the type of “man” that rarely sheds a tear. Most wars have the opposite effect on people, but not Billy. “Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you’re alive. I don’t think Billy would have agreed with this quote because he didn’t feel the need to cry very often. His response when people died were so it goes. A time in which I thought he would cry was when his wife died, but he didn’t even then. When she died, he was pretty much a vegetable in the hospital. This could have affected the way he felt toward the situation. Throughout the book, Billy had not cried once until he came upon the two horse pitiers. On page 252 it says, “Billy asked them in English what it was they wanted, and they at once scolded him…When Billy saw the condition of his means of transportation, he burst into tears. He hadn’t cried about anything else in the war.” This statement helps explain that Billy doesn’t believe in crying because it doesn’t help the situation. In his case, he could have taken the side of the Tralfamadorians in realizing that everyone dies in some point in time. In the stanza of “Away in a Manger” when it says, “The Baby awakes. But the little Lord Jesus No crying he makes,” it is not often that babies do not cry when they are woken up. Billy and Jesus can be compared to each other because they both experience difficulties and reasons that one would cry. Billy goes through the war losing people all around him and seeing cruelty. Jesus, even as a baby, did not cry when he was awakened. When Jesus was crucified, he did not cry. I am sure he wanted to, and there is not a single person in this world that couldn’t have held it within them. Billy and Jesus show a similar characteristic of strength. They both endured some very painful things such as death and dying in which many people cry. This is not saying that they both never cried because they did. Billy cried because the condition of the horses, and he also wept. Vonnegut says, “Later on, as a middle-aged optometrist, he would weep quietly and privately sometimes, but never make loud boohooing noises.” The stanza of “Away in a Manger,” says, “No crying he makes.” John 11:34-35 reads, “Master, come and see, they said. Now Jesus wept.” Jesus wept when Mary and the Jews came weeping to him over the death of Mary’s brother Lazarus. He also wept when he approached the city of Jerusalem in Luke 19:41. They both wept over the condition of someone or something besides themselves. I think this shows that Billy Pilgrim and Jesus didn’t cry often. When they did, they wept quietly. Jesus and Billy demonstrate that there is really no need in crying; however, there is need for weeping.

Callie Holloway

Fate?

While reading about Valencia’s fender bender, one notices that Vonnegut emphasis on the aftermath and damage done to the car. The in death detailing symbolizes a numerous amount of different ideas. For instant, the other car happens to be a Mercedes, which is a German made car, thus instantly connects the accident to the war. The Mercedes only lost a headlight due to the abrupt hit; however, Valencia’s car had a huge gaping truck that “looked like the mouth of a village idiot who was explaining he didn’t know anything about anything.” This represents how Billy appears to the world. Billy is always trying to explain to the world that the tralfamadorians taught him how to travel through time; Billy claims that he has seen his death numerous, which leads one to believe that Vonnegut does not believe in free will. The next important detail is the Ronald Reagan bumper sticker. In World War II, Billy was fighting against the same things that Ronald Reagan did in the Cold War, communism. This detail helps connect the rest of the details as effects to Billy. For example, after the muffler falls off, Valencia drives off, leaving it lying on the pavement. This prominently describes how Billy is disconnected with the world and time. It seems as if Billy has fallen off the deep end, causing him to appear completely insane to the rest of the world. The muffler makes the car sound like a “heavy bomber,” which reconnects the car to the war once again. Wars usually end in uncountable number of deaths. The car is a metaphor that Valencia’s life is going to end unenviable, in a similar way that many of the Jews died, from carbon monoxide poisoning. According to Vonnegut, it was Valencia’s fate to die from the car accident, although the wreck was a simple fender bender, it ended in a tragic death. Valencia could have caused her fate by her free will because she was hysterical from everything that had just happened. If she had not missed her turn and slammed on her brakes, than she never would have gotten into the accident that led to her death. If someone question Billy wither he believed in fate of free will, he would say fate because the tralfamadorians had shown him how to travel around in time and see what is going to happen in the future. The details from the car accident can lead to several other opinions and connections throughout the book.

Every Mans Fantasy

Imagine yourself as an oddly shaped man, naked and alone with a famous, female porn star on the planet Tralfamadore. This may be difficult if you have never heard of Tralfamadore, however readers of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut are all to familiar with this scenario. Billy Pilgrim is the books main character who is living in a dull, safe marriage to Valencia Merble, she "was as big as a house because she couldn't stop eating"(36). Throughout his life he is haunted by effects of WW2 and becomes a time traveler to help cope with the desperate times in his life. Billy's time travels lead him to the planet Tralfamadore. "He was displayed naked in a zoo" and mated with a "former Earthling" porn star "named Montana Wildhack" (32). Montana Wildhack is first introduced to readers at the end of chapter 5. Billy is under his electric blanket warm snugly and alone, he becomes unstuck in time and travels to the first time he met beautifully shaped porn star, Montana. "Montana was naked and so was Billy", the aliens broke record attendance at the zoo and "everybody on the planet wanted to see the Earthlings mate"(168). Billy was naked and oddly shaped, Kurt Vonnegut describes him as "funny looking...tall and weak, and shaped like a Coca-Cola" bottle (30) while Montana Wildhack is assumed as flawless and perfectly shaped as a porn star. On page 228 Montana asks Billy to tell her a story, Billy immediately talks about his WW2 experiences. Billy retells the incidents at Dresden with some detail and yet Vonnegut escapes Billy back to the war with no reaction from Montana. This leads the reader to assume that Billy and Montana have an understanding of each other. Montana knows that Billy will become "unstuck" in time and will resume time travel. On page 264, Montana asks Billy "Time-traveling again?...I can always tell", this leads readers to believe that the relationship between the two zoo specimens is a real, honest understanding of one another. In real life Billy does not disclose Dresden to fat Valencia and every time he lays in bed the time-traveling Billy becomes a mate to a porn star who understands him (Duh, every mans fantasy). Montana's character was designed to be a flat character who aids the main character (Billy) through the plot. Montana has no real opinion on anything thus serves as a sex toy to a frustrated war veteran with mental illness. Kurt Vonnegut creates Montana as a nice distraction for Billy as he copes with post-war trauma.

Robotic Humans

Of course we all know how people change when they have been to war. Kurt Vonnegut is arguably “crazy” after returning, but he seems to be developing this “crazy” attitude of his during the war. In the beginning of chapter 8, Vonnegut says that “people are discouraged from being characters” (208). During war, people tend to lose track of time, and of who they really are; soldiers who are in battle day in and day out almost become insensitive to reality. They are men forced to take orders, and if disobeyed, they will most likely be executed. They are men, forced to be robots.
Imagine yourself doing the same thing over and over again with no seeming end to whatever it is that you’re doing. Knowing there is no end; time has no significance to you anymore; so much for hours, days, months, and years. During this time your one objective is to kill any man you see of the enemy. When people are ordered to do the same thing over and over again without having any say in what to do, it becomes a system of action, and this is in my opinion where most people lose their character in the war.
The only people that make a difference are usually the ones who are conscious. Derby in this case seems to be a person who keeps a lot to himself. Being a high school teacher, he needs to be very appropriate at all times and an example for his students, but also can’t express himself. When it’s time to speak up, he does. The only people able to gather strength are the ones who aren’t afraid to be themselves and refuse to be robots.

Michael's Blog

I think that us as readers will believe anything that is written in a book to an extent. We are taught at a young age that if you read books you’ll expand your mind and become more intelligent on subjects you read about. When Trout and Maggie have this conversation about “if the stuff he writes about is really true”, Trout makes up a story and Maggie believed every word that came out of his mouth. When Then trout backed it up by saying “It’s like advertising. You have to tell the truth in advertising, or you get in trouble” (pg.218). We all know that sometimes even advertising isn’t always truthful they want you to buy their product. Same thing for authors they want to write something that will sell and make them money. In slaughterhouse five Vonnegut uses many surreal scenes throughout this book but at the same time he uses pretty extreme ones as well. He wants to make this book realistic but at the same time he feels that if he does then it’ll be boring so he throws in some ridiculous scenarios like Billy getting in a plane crash and him being the only one that survives the plane crash, after the plane crash he starts telling people that he got kidnapped by the Tralfamadorian’s and was held prisoner for many years but seemed like seconds on Earth. This is when us as readers take a second and say “Wait a minute. Did this really happen? There is no way.” Us as readers have to understand what Vonnegut is trying to write about in this book. My understanding of the book is that he didn’t want to make this book so real that the audience gets bored with it after a couple of chapters and puts it down. He wanted to make it into an interesting story about a kid who entered the war and ever since he has never been the same mentally and physically.

He's going to be a Character...whatever the hell that means!

Vonnegut is trying to make the point that people are discouraged to be something other than plain and boring. They are encouraged to be just like everyone else. Earlier in the passage, Campbell is trying to convince the American men to go with his group and fight the Communists. People were being cowards when they did not stand up for what they believed in and let Campbell just walk all over them.
The line stated, “People are discouraged from being characters.” This means that people were discouraged to be their own person and stand up for their beliefs, whatever their beliefs may be. They are also discouraged to be their “own person”. When you think of a character, you normally think that you will remember them for something special that they did, whether it be very bad or heroic. In this case, Derby was a character hero in the sense that he stood up for his beliefs and did not let Campbell walk all over the entire group in the slaughterhouse. He did not let Campbell talk to the group of American soldiers like they are animals.
When people are discouraged to be characters, they are told to be boring, bland, and like everyone else. People are discouraged from being characters because they authority is scared of what actions those not in authority will take. The authority puts such a threat on the people to not be characters the people listen and the authorities do not have to do anything.
As Derby did take action and did speak up for the group in the slaughterhouse, he was a character and was something other than just another bystander. He told Campbell what he thought because he was fed up with the crap that they all were being put through. By him standing up, he is a character.

Matthew Peeler's Blog

As Montana Wildhack asks Billy Pilgrim to tell her a story, Billy immediately begins telling a war story. To me, this is a natural reaction for anyone who has been in the war. Though this book tends to deviate from typical explanations, I feel like this one is almost as typical as it gets. Throughout the book, it appears that Billy suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This disorder is something that many individuals that come back from war have to deal with. The individual tends to have flashbacks about some of the more difficult times they had during war, just as Billy has. Though the flashbacks do not happen constantly, they often keep the individuals mind stuck on war most of the time. I think this is exactly what happened to Billy as he began to tell his story. Though there is really no evidence to support this story is an actual flashback in itself, I do believe that the flashbacks had an influence on Billy telling this particular story. With it being fresh on his mind, it is easy for him to remember and it is one of the first things that come up. He proceeds to tell Montana about Dresden being destroyed. Though the story did not last for a long period of time, the details of what happened were very precise. He told about what people looked like and what all was lost in the destruction. After Billy tells his story, the book goes of onto another course without a reaction from Montana. This is a rather surprising thing to me, as I would think she would have a rather interesting reaction as her and Billy talk several times throughout the book however, you can understand why there wasn’t a reaction in the book. Oftentimes, people don’t have a certain reaction to a story like this, as they know that the individual telling the story is going through a difficult time. In my opinion, Montana was at a sheer loss of words after Billy told the story about the destruction of Dresden.

Oh the memories...

In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy is famously known for having flashbacks of his past. He experiences and relives everything that has happened to him, both good and bad. He can even see into the future as well, even to the exact day and time of his death. However, on his eighteenth wedding anniversary, what he experienced was a memory instead of his a flashback. His nice white house was full of guests, mostly optometrists and their wives, for a wonderful celebration of their marriage and how long it had lasted. A group of optometrists who attended the party were also known for being in a quartet who called themselves “The Febs”. They entertained the guests with their rehearsed songs and had prepared a special song for the “happy” couple. The quartet began their song, and the chords being sung struck Bill in an unusual way, even to the extent of his facial expressions being distorted. The words of the song also had a big impact on him, one that he did not understand why. On page 220, the song says “So long forever, old fellows and gals, so long forever old sweethearts and pals – God bless ‘em – And so on.” Billy did not understand why this had affected him in such a strange way, seeing as though he had never had old fellows or old sweethearts, yet he missed them anyways. Billy wandered up to his bedroom in an effort to compose himself once again, but instead had a memory visit him. The memory was in Dresden and it was the day of the attack. He had been down in the meat locker with the other Americans and four of their guards while the town around was being destroyed and eaten alive by fire. After spending quite some time in the locker, they resurfaced to find themselves alone with no other survivors. On page 227, it states “The guards drew together instinctively, rolled their eyes. They experimented with one expression and then another, said nothing, though their mouth were often open. They looked like a silent film of a barbershop quartet.” The quartet that was still singing along throughout the night underneath his feet downstairs had reminded him of that tragic day in Dresden. The memory was not one of his famous flashbacks that he relives, but simply a reminder of something that had an impact on his life. It’s just like when we catch a scent unexpectantly that takes us to another place, like home, or a certain holiday, like Christmas.

Vonnegut-Response to Question 13-Billy's happiest moment, or realization?

Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut uses strange events to catch reader’s attention and help the reader become more insightful to the underlying meaning of the text. On pages 250, and 251, is an example of the way a particular passage reveals Vonnegut’s view that he has cleverly been developing throughout the entire text. It is within two pages that he provides evidence for the readers to use in conclusion to the way Vonnegut feels about typical American’s behavior. As Vonnegut described Billy’s happiest moment- a nap in the sun after the war- Billy wakes up to a couple speaking to horses. After reading the pages that follow I was immediately able to understand why this could be Billy’s happiest moment. The illustration of a nap after the war, and waking up in the sun to what the couple expresses to him could be interpreted as symbolizing the way many Americans could have “woken up to the sun” or in other words the way the may have been shown the “light” in how insensitive Americans’ conduct had become. On page 250, “Billy opened his eyes.” Here is where the reader can anticipate a major idea is about to be revealed. Further in the text on page 251, “They were noticing what the Americans had not noticed—that the horses’ mouths were bleeding, gashed by bits…the horses were insane with thirst. The Americans had treated their form of transportation as though it were no more sensitive than a six-cylinder Chevrolet.” At this point the reader has most likely interpreted one very clear message Vonnegut is demonstrating. The way that Americans tend to treat things—as useful as they are to them in that moment, and as for the rest of time and purpose, and after they have thoroughly used it, there in no longer a need to be concerned with condition. Here the soldiers were more concerned with stealing remains from people who had been killed by tragedy and using animals to transport them in the process. The major issue is the way they are treating everything at this point, a lack of concern or care, there is no humanity remaining within their beings. It took the couple, as outsiders, to make Billy aware of just how horrific their actions resulted. When Billy’s reaction is described on page 252, “When Billy saw the condition of his means of transportation, he burst into tears. He hadn’t cried about anything else in war.” There are several things the author could want readers to interpret at this point. One major idea is that this is the first time Billy has been sensitive to something and it brings him to the reality of the devastation. Likewise, in analyzing the previous pages it could show the way Billy is beginning to comprehend how terrible war and destruction has been and it cannot continue to be unnoticed. Possibly the interpretation of the significance in these moments in the relation to the rest of the novel, it is the first time Billy truly realizes the destruction that Americans cause and the way they are also accustom to effortlessly ignoring the consequences. I believe that Vonnegut depicts many dislikable American characters and their behaviors’ in his novel to exemplify the way he feels about Americans, even though he is also American. Once again, unless it is directly affecting our being, it does not matter.

Just a memory??

Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Billy has uncontrollable time shifts. He is one place at one point, and one place in another, and before chapter eight, Billy never just remembers. He always is, or thinks he is, there experiencing past occurrences. In chapter eight though, it is different. He has his first actual memory. Vonnegut makes a clear distinction between Billy being there and having an actual memory by saying, “Billy thought hard about the effect the quartet had had on him, and then found an association with an experience he had long ago. He did not travel in time to the experience. He remembered it shimmeringly-as follows:” (226) Vonnegut then writes about how Billy experienced the bombing that destroyed Dresden. Billy remembers waiting on this bombing in a meat locker with other American prisoners and four guards, and then emerging to find Dresden basically gone, with nothing truly remaining but death. He then remembers the four guards grouped together in a huddle with expressions on their faces swapping between awe and terror. This allows Billy to make an association with the guards and the barbershop quartet, and allows Billy to make a distinction between the "real world", and his time lapses. I think the Febs (also known as the barbershop quartet) make him think back to this event that happened to him, and bring him back to reality. The guards he saw and remember, look very similar to the Febs, which allows him to realize that he is not actually in Dresden experiencing the bombing, but he is just remembering an event in the past.I believe Billy remembers the events like he does so that he can link the loss of the thousands of people in Dresden with his experience in the meat locker with the four guards and other Americans so that he can put this terrible tragedy behind him and stop experiencing it. I think it does exactly that, because later on in the novel, According to Vonnegut, Montana Wildhack says, “Tell me a story,” (228) and Billy starts his story with “Dresden was destroyed on the night of February 13, 1945.” (228) This occurrence shows that he has finally put this event behind him, and that is why he is able to talk about it without actually physically thinking he is there.

Blog #2 on Vonnegut

Dear All,




Below are more questions for the final blog on Kurt Vonnegut. I'd like to have no more than two people per question. Therefore, please lay claim to your question by commenting on THIS blog. You should write something like "I, Jennifer Hughes, hereby claim question 14." Per usual, please answer the question with a clear, thoughtful response of 300-600 words. Strive for polished grammar, and be sure to cite the page numbers of the quotations you include.



1. At the beginning of chapter 8 (206-207), we are introduced to the character Howard W. Campbell (he is a made-up character!). Discuss why Vonnegut would create a character like this and dress him as he does.

2. What point about war is Vonnegut making when he says that in war “people are discouraged from being characters”? (208)

3. What is ironic about the moment when Edgar Derby stands up and gives a speech about American ideals? (209)

4. What do you think is the purpose of the quick summary of Kilgore Trout’s book about a money tree? (213)

5. What do you think the purpose of the quick summary of The Gutless Wonder is? (213-214)?

6. Kilgore Trout and Maggie White have a conversation about whether stuff in novels ever “really happened.” How does this conversation suggest to readers how we should understand our experience of the novel Slaughterhouse Five?

7. On page 226, Billy has his first memory, rather than flashback, about his experience in the war. What is it that he remembers, and why does he remember it like this? How does it relate to the barbershop quartet?

8. When Montana Wildhack asks Billy to tell her a story, why does he launch into a war story, do you think? Why do we not get her reaction to the story? (228)

9. Why do you think that Vonnegut describes Valencia’s car after the accident the way he does?

10. Is it important that we see “the Truman thing” from 23-year-old, 103-IQ-leveled Lily’s eyes? (Hint: yes) Why? (238)

11. Having gotten this far in the book, do you have any ideas why Billy has a flashback to the time he was in a waiting room with a gassy old man?

12. Is it in line with Billy’s character that he would insert himself into his hospital mate’s conversation, as he does, on page 245? What is significant about his assertion “I was there” (also on 247)?

13. From what Vonnegut describes as Billy’s happiest moment – a nap in the sun after the war – Billy wakes up to a couple speaking to horses. What do you interpret as the significance of this moment to the rest of the novel (250-251)?

14. Discuss the inclusion of the stanza of “Away in a Manger” in this chapter and as the epigraph of the novel. What does it say about the value of crying?

15. Compare the views of Dresden held between Rumfoord and Billy after Rumfoord begins to listen to Billy (253-254).

16. What does the scientific investigation of Jesus’s death in the Kilgore Trout novel have to do with the rest of the novel (259-260)?

17. Billy gets onto a radio program in which literary crtics are discussing “whether the novel was dead or not” (263). So it goes! Do you think that Vonnegut believes that novels are useful anymore, based on the conversation he includes?

18. Vonnegut doesn’t really linger on the idea that he doesn’t like Billy Pilgrim’s Tralfamadorian worldview. He says on 269, “I am not overjoyed.” Why is he not overjoyed?