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Who has an orange and black
striped tent for a wedding? Jack Skellington?
I find it interesting that Billy knows he's going to be abducted by aliens, yet he does nothing to change this fact. Wouldn't he at least hide? Why do you think he does nothing to change his fate?
"So it goes." Even when it's just a bottle of champagne that's gone dead...funny.
What did you think about the WWII movie that Billy described backwards?
When Billy asks, "Why me?", why do the Tralfamadorians say that this was a very human question?
I found it funny that a Barca-Lounger is used as part of the human habitat in the Tralfamadorian zoo...What does that suggest about humans?
Why do you suppose Billy is so violent when he sleeps? Do you think his lack of sleep caused him to break from reality?
Why does Weary claim that Billy Pilgrim killed him?
Before the spaceship arrives, there is a sound like an owl. When the train arrives at the extermination camp, there is a cooing sound...significant?
Billy seems to jump around in time a lot at the end of this chapter. Why do you think this happens here?
What is so baffling to the Tralfamadorians concerning free will? Are humans brilliant because they're the only ones in the universe concerned with free will, or are they foolish to believe there is such a thing as free will?
I find it interesting that Billy knows he's going to be abducted by aliens, yet he does nothing to change this fact. Wouldn't he at least hide? Why do you think he does nothing to change his fate?
"So it goes." Even when it's just a bottle of champagne that's gone dead...funny.
What did you think about the WWII movie that Billy described backwards?
When Billy asks, "Why me?", why do the Tralfamadorians say that this was a very human question?
I found it funny that a Barca-Lounger is used as part of the human habitat in the Tralfamadorian zoo...What does that suggest about humans?
Why do you suppose Billy is so violent when he sleeps? Do you think his lack of sleep caused him to break from reality?
Why does Weary claim that Billy Pilgrim killed him?
Before the spaceship arrives, there is a sound like an owl. When the train arrives at the extermination camp, there is a cooing sound...significant?
Billy seems to jump around in time a lot at the end of this chapter. Why do you think this happens here?
What is so baffling to the Tralfamadorians concerning free will? Are humans brilliant because they're the only ones in the universe concerned with free will, or are they foolish to believe there is such a thing as free will?
107 comments:
The sheer fact that Billy knows when he is going to be abducted by the Tralfamadorians and can feel it, yet he does nothing to help himself is just plain weird. One would at least think that the natural human response would be to “take cover” or “hide,” but not Billy Pilgrim—he just waits. Waits for them to come and whisk him away. Waits for them to come and alleviate all of his Earthly worries, problems, and desires. The fact that Billy simply waits for the Tralfamadorians leads the reader to believe nothing less than the fact that Billy Pilgrim likes escaping from any and all responsibility. He likes the Tralfamadorians. He likes being the subject of attention, even if it is at a zoo. He likes his cage. He likes the forced mating. He likes the Barca-Lounger. He likes it all. Billy Pilgrim may not want to admit it, but subconsciously he really does like being abducted by the Tralfamadorians.
I think Billy’s description of the backwards movie is an interesting and ironic tale. He describes Germans pulling debris out of American planes, Americans saving a town by sucking up the fire, and scientist hiding minerals so they can never be used again. This story is so beautiful. Instead of men from different countries fighting, we see men working together to help each other. Men, who could be holding a fiery death for thousands of people, are saving lives. Scientists are not racing to build the next death machine but are racing to protect humanity from dangerous chemicals. When the movie plays forward, we see a common war movie where the Americans gloriously win the fight against their enemies. If we play the movie backwards we see acts of kindness that people aspire to. We see the actions we expect of heroes. I find it ironic that the movie that portrays the characteristics of a hero is the backwards one, while the forward movie portrays humanity at its worst. Why do we call the actions of the forward movie ‘glorious’ and ‘heroic’ when, as humans, we know that it is wrong?
Weary is lost in his own delusions. He thinks that the scouts are his best friends and that they’re invincible. He imagines the honors they will receive while he is still out on the battlefield. To him, Billy is a story he can tell his kids; he saved that silly college kid named Billy. When the scout realize they need to lose the deadweight, Weary is devastated. All of his dreams go up in smoke, and the only other person that is there is Billy. By Weary’s thinking Billy is the reason his ‘friends’ left him, and Billy should be punished. Then when they are discovered, it is obviously Billy’s fault because if Weary didn't have to beat Billy, they would never have been caught. Weary blames Billy for his death because he has no one else to blame except himself, and in Weary’s delusions Weary is perfect.
The Tralfamadorian is baffled by free will because no other planets even speak of it. He tells Billy that he has visited 31 planets and has studied 100 more, and Earth is the only planet that speaks of free will. Humans are pretty brilliant to embrace the concept of free will if you ask me. Freedom is great if it's used in the correct way. When people start taking advantage of their freedom in the wrong way, such as harming others; that's when we start to question if free will is smart. This is why certain laws are put into action; that doesn't mean that the laws fix all of our problems, but it is certainly better than being a "bug stuck in Amber." We Americans (I don't know about other countries) are free to an extent; obviously there are things we are not permitted to do by law, but I would still say we have free will.
Humans as a race seem to care for themselves before putting others first, honestly I hope we are all willing to admit to this, we are all guilty of it. There are always times where we put our safety and wellbeing before someone else especially when our lives feel threatened. Let’s say you and someone you don’t like are both stuck in the middle of a desert with only one bottle of water with enough water in there for one last drink. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t fight with that person about who gets the last sip, it is a matter of life or death, you are probably going to think of yourself first( if you didn’t them congratulations you’re a better person than most of us). The survival of ourselves almost always comes before others.
The “why me” most likely meaning ‘why do all these things have to happen to me’, along with ‘how can things possibly get any worse right now’. Things could always get worse Billy, don’t tempt the universe because it will always end badly.
Once Billy gets abducted, there is a point where he asks the Tralfamadorians “Why me?” They respond to him by almost rebuking him, saying that it was a very human question. Essentially they say humans are an ethnocentric race which is very self-absorbed, and I laughed at this… because it’s true. The aliens say that getting Billy just happened to a moment in time, there was no reason for it to be him. He was not significant in any way, just convenient and existent. Often, we comfort ourselves by saying “Why me?” because it causes us to feel special, and selected. Really, in the big picture, we are all minuscule pieces in an ever-expanding universe. To us, when we cease to exist, everything else also ceases to exist, but really, life goes on. The planets revolve around the sun, the universe makes new planets, and life goes on. Not everything will suddenly come to a screeching halt because we don’t exist anymore. Life will go on, whether terrestrial or extraterrestrial.
When Billy gets abducted he is very dazed and confused. The Tralfamadorians really kind of burn the whole human race saying that the humans are stuck up, and really in it for themselves which is the truest of statements. Billy was just at the wrong place at the wrong time because the aliens really had no intention of kidnapping. Bad luck Billy I guess you could say. The “Why me” by Billy is his way of really saying why does everything happen to me. But Billy just eats up the attention even if he is in captivity. It’s also a way for him to escape earthly worries, and the stresses of life.
Billy's description of the backwards war movie intrigues me. This describes countries helping each other to repair war damage. Billy describes the dismantling of bombs as people hiding the minerals used to create the bombs so they may never cause harm again. The irony here is that this describes working together to have world peace.
Weary can't seem to notice the difference between his delusions and reality. He seems to think the scouts he banded together with were his actual friends. He also believed that if he saved Billy from being captured he would get honored; however, the scouts realized that Billy was dead weight, and it would be best to just let him get captured. The scouts then left him when he attempted to save Billy. In his delusions, he is perfect. This causes him to blame Billy for everything that has happened to him up to this point even though Billy insisted on being left behind.
Billy does not try to change his fate because like the Tralfamadorians, he sees that certain happenings can not be adverted, it is a set point it time that always happened and always will happen. Free will is a false sense, at least to the Tralfamadorians and those else who see time as they do. You may feel as if you're choosing a certain path over the other, but in reality, you always chose that path and always will.
Slaughterhouse-5 pokes at the subject of free will quite often. Tralfamadorians see the whole picture in a whole plane or dimension that Billy can't even imagine. I would like to believe in free will, and the brilliance of Man, but the Tralfamadorians seem like a much higher, intelligent species. Maybe they are right about free will. They say, "so it goes" to emphasize how understanding and accepting they are of death. Death is just one tiny instance in the vast timeline of a being. It just "is".
Lack of sleep, along with warfare, exhaustion, hunger, and discomfort, all bite at Billy each day of his bland life. These most likely affect Billy's perception of reality and his ability to reason. Something is definitely wrong with him, I believe.
Regarding the WWII movie Billy watched backwards, I think that is Billy's image of a perfect world. I think he's tired of the bombs, fires, death, and blood gutters.
I think one of the potential reasons why Billy is violent in his sleep is because of his dreams. I've wondered whether Billy's time jumping isn't a delusion but nightmares. He dreams about his future because he is unsure of its existence. He lives every day of the war not knowing if he will see the next day. The stress of death being around every corner must be overwhelming for Billy. Maybe he dreamed up the aliens as a way to escape his own reality as well.
One iconic moment from this chapter stood out to me, which was when Billy had been taken by the Tralfamadorians and he asks simply "Why me?" It makes me wonder because it seems like something so simple yet they cannot realize a reality for us where time is precious, and so something that takes our time bothers us. It coincides slightly with the idea that people are stuck in their ways and what they believe in. The Tralfamadorians also seem to realize this about humans when they throw in the Barca-Lounger to imply humans strive towards relaxation. It feels like stereotype in its own way of humans, but based on other suggested ideas Americans in specific.
Meghan Gore
The Tralfamadorians say that " why me?" is a very human question because as humans, we are always obsessing over answers/conclusions and reasoning behind it when the Tralfamadorians live in the moment. They basically say that you shouldn't focus on the "why" because you can't change what has already happened. You can't change it so why obsess over it.
Weary claims that Billy Pilgrim killed him for a lot of reasons, actually. Throughout Weary's whole life, there is a consistent theme of being deserted. This causes many psychological/mental problems for Weary. When he joins with the other men, he has a great idea of "The Three Musketeers," but that is all ruined with Billy's (annoying) presence. It's not Billy's fault that he was doomed to such a situation (aka, totally not prepared for it... at all..) and although Weary probably realizes this, his anger does not cease. If Billy hadn't have caused so many issues, Weary would not have to stop and "rescue" him. They would not have been captured. Every item that Weary had received from home - which kept him warm and cozy - would not have been stripped. He wouldn't have gotten an infection, and would not have died. Instead, Weary would have gone on with the other two men and may have not reached such an awful ending. Even though the other two men were found, shot, and killed on sight, if Billy wouldn't have been there the 3 could have been long gone.
Thanks Billy?
Billy jumps around a lot in these chapters. Honestly, it kinda confuses me. How can he travel to the future? If he's in the war one second then has an image of mid-40's-at-his-daughter's-wedding, is it all a mental disorder caused by his trauma? Or is it really happening? Am I missing something here? Do I sound dumb?
No one that I have seen has addressed this question. Personally, I think Billy jumps around in time because he tries to cope and relate things to each other. He's taking a shower during the war, then goes to a bath as a baby. And just like the Germans capturing Billy, he had no choice in being captured by Tralfamadorians. So it goes.
Billy’s view of the World War II movies is interesting. I think he views the movies this way because he dreams that war happened backwards. Instead of destruction, buildings were rebuilt and war machines put away. When BIlly is abducted the Tralfamadorians tell Billy that the question “Why me?” is a very human question. I think the Tralfamadorians say this because it is pessimistic and curious question. The Tralfamadorians tell Billy there is no why. Humans are curious and seek to know “why”, but things happen and there are no reasons. I think this is what the tralfamadorians are trying to tell Billy. Back in World War II Weary blames Billy for his death. I think Weary blames Billy because he thinks Billy is the reason the two scouts left him. Weary believes that if the three musketeers were together they could have survived.
I found it interesting at the end of the chapter when the Tralfamadorian commented that "Earthlings are the great explainers, explaining why this event is structured as it is, telling how other events may be achieved or avoided." I think the human infatuation with explaining things can be attributed to the fear of the unknown. If humans can explain anything and everything, then there would nothing unexpected could happen. H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." I think the fear of the unknown can be related to the fear of humans of the end of time and that is why humans are so obsessed with keeping track of and explaining time, to better comprehend time. However, even if humans could explain the end of time, I don't think there would be a way to prevent the end of time from happening just as Billy Pilgrim knew that he would be abducted by the Tralfamadorians, yet Billy was unable to stop it. Finally, I think explaining things is part of human nature because "knowledge is power" and humans love power.
When Billy is watching the WWII movie, I find the comment about Adam and Eve the most interesting. Billy is describing the movie and how everything is going backwards: “When the bombers got back to their base, the steel cylinders were taken from the racks and shipped back to the United States of America." Soon after, however, Billy starts coming up with his own opinions of what happened, going back to Hitler being a baby, before the war started, and even all the way back to the creation of humanity. Billy imagines everything moving backwards in time, eventually working towards the making of two perfect people, Adam and Eve. In order to go back far enough to avoid war and pain and suffering, Billy must go back all the way in history to the very beginning. Even Adam and Eve did not stay pure for long because they eventually sinned. Billy watching the movie backwards and bringing up Adam and Eve signifies that it seems war and sin is a part of human nature that cannot be avoided, and it has been a part of humanity from the beginning.
The WWII movie that Billy watched backwards was actually one of my favorite parts of this book so far. For some reason this portion of the text really said something about the destruction of the war and I found it really fascinating because nobody ever thinks of how the movie would play in reverse. Not only do they show the German fighters sucking the debris from the American planes and the bombers using a “miraculous magnetism” to shrink the fires, but they go way back to the beginning of how the weapons are manufactured – or taken apart in Billy’s case. It made the writing more interesting to put it in reverse chronological order, and it gives the reader a better view of how Billy thinks.
I made me really frustrated when Billy knew that the Tralfamadorians were going to take him and then he did absolutely nothing about it. I think that he actually wanted to be taken by them because he likes to be told what to do. He doesn't want any responsibilities so he's perfectly fine with being taken. He also feels that it's something he can't prevent, so why even try in the first place?
Weary claims Billy killed him because Weary had created delusions in his head about finally being accepted by people by doing certain things and one of those things happened to be saving Billy. Weary came up with the delusion him and the scouts were "The Three Musketeers". Weary imagined him and the scouts staying together and helping save Billy so they could all be honored once they made it safely home. The scouts turned out to be cowards and thought of only themselves and thought Weary always having to help save Billy was going to end up killing them, when in fact they were killed just after ditching them. Weary however figures that if Billy wouldn't have been around that the scouts would have never left him and he would be safe and happy with his new friends.
I believe the Tralfamadorians tell Billy that “Why me?” is such a human question for two reasons. Humans are definitely very egotistic and ethnocentric people. We believe that we are the most dominant species on the planet and tend to be selfish creatures. Often we believe that our problems are the most important things on the planet and everyone else can’t possibly be dealing with the same horrors that we have to on a daily basis (definitely no sarcasm there at all). Billy’s “Why me?” could be viewed as a self-centered question to the Tralfamadorians. The second reason focuses less on the “me” and more on the “why”. Humans are curious creatures. Birds don’t need to know the mechanics of how it’s possible that they can fly; they just fly without question and put faith in their wings. Humans, however, have a need for knowledge that can only be quenched with answers. We go to school for years and years to cram as much information as we possibly can in our brains. Also, we are nosy and wish to know everything about each other’s lives, even when they don’t affect us directly. The Tralfamadorians could have been making fun of humans’ need for knowledge in order to live our lives happily when they criticized Billy for his human question.
When the aliens abduct Billy he does nothing to try to stop them because he no longer cares about his life. He stopped caring when he was tromping through the snowy woods in World War II. He figures why hide when nothing could be as bad as the massacre he had a front-row seat to, and that maybe if he gets abducted that he will finally be free of those memories and will find some sort of peace. Also, he is imagining it so one always has a greater sense of courage when in their dreams.
On a different topic, Weary claims that Billy killed him for a two reasons. One, if it wasn’t for having to babysit Billy, Weary believed he would have escaped, that him and his two other Musketeer’s would have survived and returned home. Two, Weary thought of himself as some powerful hero who was constantly dragged down by the boy who didn’t care and therefore his powerful hero image was killed. However, Billy in a way did try to save him in knowing that he was a detriment to Weary and the others and tried to get them to go on without him. Ultimately though, Weary killed himself. If he had used his brain and thought about all the noise he was making in a very silent woods while beating Billy to a pulp, perhaps he wouldn't have been discovered in the first place.
I believe that Billy is so violent in his sleep because he is losing sight of reality. All of this lack of sleep, food, and warmth is causing him to break from reality, and this causes him to be so violent when he sleeps. Before Weary dies, he claims that Billy killed him, and I kind of agree with him. He was constantly going out of his way to save Pilgrim from his impending death. This extra duty added a lot of stress to Weary, and obviously caused him to get frustrated and fatigued at Billy. If it wasn't for this added stress, he would have never attacked Billy. When he attacked Billy, German soldiers obviously heard all of the commotion, and discovered the two down by the river. Weary being captured was the beginning of his down fall. Once captured, Billy and Weary were sent on a march, which took a toll on Weary's feet. After the march, Weary got gangrene on his mangled feet and died. That is why he blamed Billy.
I think when the spaceship from Tralfmadore comes and Billy hears “the cry of what might have been a melodious owl, but it wasn't a melodious owl” (75), and when he hears the cooing sound when the train arrives hold an explanation for his time traveling. As many people have pointed out in previous posts, Billy is most likely suffering from some sort of mental illness. I believe that his mind is using the sounds and sights around him to “jump through time.” For instance, at one point at the very end of chapter three he is “nestled like a spoon with the hobo” and then the gets unstuck in time and is suddenly nestled like a spoon with his wife. Also in chapter three, some cars on the train are marked with an orange and black striped banner, and in chapter four Billy’s daughter had an orange and black striped tent at her wedding. Now I’m wondering how true some of Billy’s memories are because let’s be honest here, no one wants an orange and black striped tent at their wedding so his mind is probably making that up by using his old memories from the war.
Billy and the Tralfamadorians are a perfect fit. I feel like Billy didn't run away or try to hide from them because he knew no matter what he tried he couldn't escape his fate. Another reason would be that he wants to escape his rresponsibility. Knowing he couldn't escape and that he would be able to get rid of all his earthly responsibilities he was all for it. Lastly if you where to meet him in person you would consider Billy a pushover. Billy likes being pushed around and being ordered around and he knew thats what the aliens would do. With all three of these facts on the table Billy was all for it. He couldn't escape his fate, he would become free of responsibility, and would be bossed around like he likes. Billy and the Tralfamadorians are perfect for each other.
I think the Tralfamadorians must in some way think humans are an ignorant, inferior species. Billy asks the question “Why me?”, which makes a statement of selfishness and inquisitiveness. When the Tralfamadorians say that “Why me?” is a very human question, they think that humans are self-centered and complain too much. Having a Barca-lounger in the human habitat in the Tralfamadorian zoo also suggests that they think even less of the human race. In our zoos on Earth, we make the habitats as natural and homely to the animals as possible, incorporating as much as their usual habitats as possible. The animals just need fresh air, food, grass, and sun to be happy. For the Tralfamadorians to include a louge chair in the human habitat just exudes a bit of disgust for human laziness. They are saying that humans need material things to be happy and we are not capable of happiness just living freely in nature like other animals.
I found it interesting that Billy knew prior to his abduction that he would be taken by Tralfamadorians. I think that if he tried to hide from them, he knew they would abduct him somehow so there's no reason in trying to prolong his fate. I agree with Brendan when he states that on Earth we try and replicate an animals habitat to keep them comfortable in a zoo, and this is what Tralfamadorians may have been trying to achieve by putting a Barca-Lounger in the human habitat.
I found the whole abduction and his conversation with the Tralfamadorians very interesting. First off, Billy knows he is going to be abducted and does nothing to stop it. Maybe this is because he believes he is just a "bug trapped in amber." Then the first thing he asks is "Why me?" The response he gets was not what I expected, calling humans out for questioning what happens. It gave me a different perspective on a lot of things. Then when they talk about the books from Tralfamadore I really liked the idea of looking at a group and seeing one image. The Tralfamadorians fascinate me in general.
Weary has gangrene after he trades his boots in for a pair of uncomfortable clogs. After the scouts ditch Weary and Billy, Weary starts to beat up Billy. Little do they know, the Germans are standing over them and watching with a kind of amusement. This, of course gets them caught. They end up in train cars that are taking them to a prison. This is Weary starts to die, and he can’t concentrate on anything but the pains in his feet. Instead of blaming his death on the Germans or the war, he blames it on Billy Pilgrim for getting him caught. He repeats Billy’s name in his car to the other soldiers and some promise to avenge Weary’s death.
Weary has gangrene after he trades his boots in for a pair of uncomfortable clogs. After the scouts ditch Weary and Billy, Weary starts to beat up Billy. Little do they know, the Germans are standing over them and watching with a kind of amusement. This, of course gets them caught. They end up in train cars that are taking them to a prison. This is Weary starts to die, and he can’t concentrate on anything but the pains in his feet. Instead of blaming his death on the Germans or the war, he blames it on Billy Pilgrim for getting him caught. He repeats Billy’s name in his car to the other soldiers and some promise to avenge Weary’s death.
I think that Weary claims that Billy Pilgrim killed him because if Billy had never joined the army and went out across German lines that day Weary would have never found him and they would have never gotten captured and had all of their clothing stripped from them. Also Weary would be alive and with the “Three Musketeers” if Weary had never found Billy, but thanks to him his team was killed and Weary is now slowly dying from gangrene in the freight train car ahead of him. Maybe if Weary just listened to Billy and just let him be to die like he asked plenty before that they wouldn't have gotten caught and Weary would be far away from there still trudging through the snow to where he was going.
"Why me?" is a very human question because of how it deals with the individual instead of the mass. Although it makes people uncomfortable to admit, the human race is indeed centered around selfish egotism; that being said selfishness isn't necessarily a bad thing."Why me?" can be related with the statement "Tell me why I'm special.": an ego boost. But through a human's selfish nature, "why me?" can also be used as an inner evaluation. "Why me?" with reflection can become "How can I deal with this?"; another unique human reaction of coping and problem solving.
Billy knows he's going to get captured by the aliens and does nothing to stop it. I think he does nothing, because as he described before, life is already planned out, and it's all decided. That nothing can change that path. I think this plays into it a bit. That and the fact he's mentally ill, and looking for a way to escape, hoping that this will be it. He likes being there. He's free from everything. When he's there, he asks, "Why me?" The Tralfamadorians say this is a human question, because it is very self centered. It focuses on him, rather than a bigger thing or group.
Billy doesn't do anything to prevent being abducted by aliens because it's a chance for him to get away. He looks at it as an escape from everything he is going through. Also, I think he knows that they will find him even if he were to hide. When Billy asks "why me?", the aliens say that it is such a human question to ask because it is. Have you ever been in a tough situation and ask yourself why it had to happen to you? I know I have. Humans have the audacity to think that nothing bad should happen to them simply because we are humans. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, we are a proud group of people. However, bad things happen to every creature out there- including humans!
I believe the Tralfamadorians say that Billy asking “Why me?” is a very human question because humans can always find something to complain about. We know that bad things happen, but always think that they will never happen to us or anyone we know. Once it does happen, we complain and complain, wishing it would’ve happened to someone else. I also found it perfectly fitting that there was a Barca Lounger in the human habitat in the Tralfamadorian zoo. It could be a staple of American living and how lazy we having gotten by sitting inside “relaxing” instead of going out and doing something, and because you can find them in a lot American homes.
I think the Tralfamadorians say it was a very human question because it's a very self-centered question. "Why me?" implies pity for yourself, like the world is out to get you. Humans are narcissistic, and thinking of only why something is happening to you, not why is this happening to anyone, is part of that. Along with being selfish, humans are lazy. We love couches and beds and being comfortable. The Tralfamadorians include the Barca-Lounger because if the setting was to be Earth-like, they had to include all aspects.
Billy doesn't try to escape the Tralfamadorians because he already knew he was going to be abducted. I think Billy doesn't like anything that requires effort. He just floats through life, mostly because it's out of his hands. He can't control anything that happens to him. He doesn't try to change it because it's almost not worthwhile.
When Billy is abducted, and asks "Why me?" it does show how we as human beings are. We believe that whatever happens to us happens because it was us when compared to the universe, we are really nothing but specs of dust. We put ourselves first and human kind is selfish. Thomas Hobbes says that mankind is selfish and brutal and will do anything to get what is best for them and this is entirely true. When faced with a decision we instinctively think what would be best for us.
When the Tralfamadorians say that Billy asks a very human question, they're talking about a very common human trait. We always have a quest to know why. Why did this tragedy happen? Why did I win the lottery? We often make up stupid answers in this quest. The Tralfamadorians tell Billy that this quest is futile, that there really is no "why" to anything.
I find the bird connections interesting. These noises, and in the previous chapter, Billy wakes up in his office looking at the optometer, thinking it to be an owl. Either Billy is obsessed with birds, or maybe these are all coincidences.
The Tralfamadorians strongly disagree with the idea that anything is meant to be, or fate. When Billy asks "Why me?" after being captured by the Tralfamadorians, he receives his answer. "Because this moment simply is", said the speaker (76). The Tralfamadorians don't believe in significance or self-determination. Free will as a whole seems so odd and "earthling-like" to the Tralfamadorians.
I'd just like to say what I think of the book so far...
The flashbacks and time changes between the war times and Billy's regular life at first were a little confusing, but as the story progresses it's easier to decifer the timeline. It's definitely a new kind of war story. One that doesn't focus on the heroics but instead on destruction and death of not just lives but people's minds as well. I find it interesting to see how Billy deals with the memories of war later on in his life, having flashbacks, randomly crying, and creating alien stories. Some of the quotes I've come to like so far are: "He didn't look like a solider at all. He looked like a filthy flamingo." (P.33) and "There was a tiny plume of smoke at infinity. There was a battle there. People were dying there. So it goes." (P.65). All in all, I find Slaughterhouse-five to be an entriguing book so far
I don't think that Billy would hide if he knew he was going to be abducted by aliens because he wanted to get a chance to get away from everything and get to experience something no one has seen before. He probably knew that he would have an exciting story to tell after and thought he might enjoy being somewhere with no other humans. He may have also thought that he didn't have anything to lose when he left because he didn't have a great life on earth. Billy is an adventurous man but maybe he feels the the abduction would stop his random time travels.
I find the Tralfamadorians' way of explaining the universe intriguing. Free will is something we, humans, pride ourselves on. Tralfamadorians find free will odd, because of the 31 planets they visited and the 100 studied, Earth was the only planet that talked of free will. The concept of free will is often debated even among humans, so its bafflement is nothing new. Some people believe in fate: a predetermined life that we live out. Some believe in karma: previous actions decide futures. Yet, others believe that our souls have the freedom to decide and act and think for ourselves and to change and grow. To the Tralfamadorians, who see all time like we would see the Rocky Mountains, this idea is foolish, because every moment simply is, simply exists on its on terms. I think the idea of free will is what keeps our race going, even if it is viewed as foolish. It may not be brilliant, but it allows us to be in control and to lose the fear of the unknown.
Weary claims that Billy Pilgrim killed him because Weary has pretty much been dragging Billy along. Weary feels that he is burdened with keeping Billy alive, and he was trying to move when they got captured. Billy's boots were taken once they got captured and so they were replaced with terribly uncomfortable wooden shoes. His feet became infected and he died when it spread to the rest of his body. In summary, Weary blames his death on Billy because the whole time that Weary, Billy, and the scouts were travelling, Weary had to keep prodding Billy just to keep going because Billy wanted to give up. In part, it could be considered Billy's fault, but maybe if Weary weren't so focused on being angry and seeking revenge, he could have gotten Billy and himself out of the situation before the Germans took them.
“So it goes” is the most ironic sentence in the entire book. Anything and everything related to death in this novel is accompanied by a nonchalant “so it goes.” A champagne bottle going dead is not a very big deal, but the rest of the times Vonnegut uses this phrase it is out of place. Billy’s indifference about the gruesome horrors of war is kind of odd actually. He seems to be unaffected by death and war. He has gotten so used to bad things happening in the world that he has been desensitized and throws around a “so it goes” in the most inappropriate places. Most people get uncomfortable around mention of murder and war, but Billy is in no way disgruntled. This just shows how messed up people can get from being in and around war so much. The fact that the author had to include the phrase after a champagne bottle dies displays how often “death” occurs, even if it’s something inanimate.
I thought the backwards description of the movie was strange, but interesting. It took a movie about war, destruction, and fighting and made it sound like something about people banding together to help make peace out of destruction. I believe the Tralfamadorians think humans are foolish for having free will. Billy uses free will as a response to hearing the Tralfamadorian's view of time. The alien then talks about how humans are the only ones who believe in it, thinking they are foolish for thinking they have any effect on their place in time.
I think that when Billy asks the Tralfalmadorians "why me?" they say that it is a very human thing to say because humans are always questioning things. They always ask why or how and are never just content with things happening just to happen. There always has to be a reason for humans, but the Tralfamadorians are more just saying that there isn't always a reason like humans think.
Tralfamadorians are really chill. They don't have reasons for everything and they don't really care. I wish humans were like that. Needing reasons for things that sometimes can't really have reasons just causes unnecessary worrying. They can't really live in the moment and are always reflecting on the past or worrying about the future, especially if it's something that can't be changed. Tralfamadorians just go with the flow because "it just is."
When Billy was describing the movie backwards I thought it was strange, to say the least. The world has never seen everyone coming together and finding world peace after destruction, some may say we do but in reality we just try to find better ways to kill each other. Instead of hiding the ingredients for bombs we build more, able to cause more destruction. Then the cycle continues. How Billy explains the movie is probably how most soldiers think the world should be after losing a friend, a family member, or their sanity.
Pg.72 I am now going to make an assumption that Vonnegut is trying to tell us something with the colors orange and black and blue and ivory. Pg.79 "All above, he wanted to be avenged, so he said again and again the name of the person who had killed him." I'm not really sure why but for some reason I enjoy this line and think this gives us a little foreshadow. Pg.85 note to self Billy sucks at golf. Taking him seven strokes to get on the green that's really cruddy. Hate to give anything way but I am pretty sure I speak for all of us when I say we know what is going on with Billy and why he is having all these weird sleep patterns.
So I have been wondering as I am sure other readers are as well, Why does Vonnegut fell the need to include all this absurd minor details to the story? Will we ever find out the reason? Will these minor details all come together at the end? Vonnegut has seemed to left me puzzled!
Orange and Black stripes on a wedding tent are rather suspicious, but it is also very similar to the banner denoting the trains off limits to attack as it is filled with prisoners of war. Why the tent and trains share a color pallet is quite baffling indeed, the only connection that I can see is the singling out of that Billy always seems to be the protagonist of. In the train, Billy is called out for being a violent sleeper and is forced to stand the entire time. he is also the [second to] last person off the train besides the dead hobo that is. In relation to the tent, all of the people under the tent earlier that night are probably able to sleep (we know Valencia is able to sleep with the Magic Fingers). But once again, Billy is left awake, this time to be kidnapped by the Tralfamadorians. Billy's compliance with the alien's wishes is once again the result of the prayer from last chapter and his belief in the unchanging path of time. He has always been abducted, and always will be abducted, or so his 4th dimensional view of time tells him. The Tralfamadorian's view of free will and 'human questions' is quite an interesting subject indeed. The Tralfamadorian's view of time and free will contradicts the way we as humans view those two concepts the way that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban contradicts the Back to the Future view. Tralfamadorians are more likely to identify with the theories produced by J.K Rowling in the way that the present is already aware of our travel to the past and has already taken it into account. In other words, the decisions that we make when traveling into the past have already affected our present (my example being Harry casting his Patronus to save himself from the dementors even though when he first thought it was his father), so one cannot change the present by traveling to the past. Although, humans in general are more likely to buy into Marty McFly's experience in the past and his near ending of his own existence. We would like to think that our choices actually affect the future. Although I have no personal experience in the field of time travel, I find myself following more of the Harry Potter view of time. If we travel into the past, we have always traveled into the past and the effects of those actions have already done their damage.
The way that Billy described the WWII movie backwards was really interesting. Most people would watch the movie front to back and not think anything of it other than the fact that it was a movie about war. But Henry's mind concocted this backwards story of the world containing all violence, transforming it into peace, and eventually working together to create the most perfect two people, Adam and Eve. I think Billy sees the movie that way because that's what his mind wants to see, a world free of war and suffering. A place where his own tragedies never existed and a way to turn back time.
"Why me?" Those two words are something humans yes all the time. Constantly. They drop their phone and it cracks, "Why me?" Their relationship falls apart because they dated some total jerk. "Why does this always happen to me?" As humans we are very self centered and selfish, and if you disagree with me, I'm sorry. You're wrong. Yes, we can do selfless acts, but how often do you stumble upon people who does thinks for the sole fact of being kind? Hardly. It would be AMAZING to be selfless, to do things for the greater good and to cleans yourself from being self centered and greedy. But as humans it's what we do. The Tralfamadorian couldn't have been more correct when they went on about how us humans act.
Weary seems to think that Billy Pilgrim killed him when in fact, he has nothing to do with his death. Billy was the reason that the Musketeers broke up but, if Weary would've stayed with the other two Musketeers he would've been executed with them. If I were to blame someone for his death it would've been the officer that stole his shoes. The clogs didn't fit him well and they mangled his feet, leading to infection, which led to his demise.
The idea of “freedom” has been greatly emphasized throughout the novel. Like the Tralfamadorians, who seem to be a species of greater intelligence, Billy has begun to believe that he has no control of his life or what happens around him. Because he feels like he has no control he stops trying to prevent being abducted by the aliens. Once abducted Billy asks the question “why me?” I do not think that this question is only directed towards the aliens but in general. If I were him I would be asking the same question like “I fought for my country so why do I have to suffer so much?”, but he has to realize that doing a good deed does not make you invincible, and sometimes bad things just happen.
The fact that Billy knew that he was going to be abducted by aliens is a scary thought by itself. But the fact that he did nothing to change that he was going to be abducted is even scarier. The majority of people would at least find a place to hide or at least be ready to go when the situation rises. But Billy Pilgrim? He just waits for it to happen. I think that he sits and waits for it to happen because he sees parts of all his past, present, and future so he knows that he will be okay afterwards. So he lets time take the natural course that is was meant to take in the first place. Otherwise any other future event that he has seen after he was abducted would be altered.
Billy asks "why me" because its natural for humans to not want to be accused of anything or do something that they do not want to do. Billy knew he was going to be abducted, so maybe he let it happen just so he could at least have the opportunity to ask why they chose him or all people. Billy is either a really brave character or just an ignorant individual.
Billy does nothing when he is reminded that he is going to be abducted because hiding from the Tralfamadorians would mean a change of fate which leads to a different future. I believe that he was thinking ahead of time because a change in the future is more scary then to relive something when he already knows the outcome. Another prediction is that he did not try to hide from the Tralfamadorians because he wanted to come face to face with them to ask them why they chose him.
Free will- the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate. To the Tralfamadorians, the most surprising thing concerning free will is that if they would have not visited Earth, they would not have even known about free will. I believe that human beings are brilliant to be the only ones concerned with free will. However, when it comes to the Tralfamadorians,I think that they believe that free will is foolish because out of the thirty-one inhabited planets that they visited, Earthlings are the only ones to believe in free will.
Billy does not want to hide from the aliens because he wants to escape his everyday world. He wants to escape all of the ideas of people on Earth along with many other thing. He doesn’t seem too attached to anyone on Earth making no good reason to stay in the first place. Billy explains that the alien’s world is much more peaceful than Earth making him not want to change his fate at all. He is probably also very curious as anyone would be since there are alien life forms introducing him to a new way of thinking. This reminds of the hobo who is in the novel who continues to say this isn’t bad. Through all of the things that Billy has went through in his life he is probably thinking that things couldn’t get much worse.
I think the orange and black stripes are somewhat odd. I find it weird that there would ever be an orange and black stripped tent for a wedding. Although all of the trains that were carrying prisoners of war, were labeled with a black and orange stripped banner. Something that sticks out to me also is that orange and black is the colors of Halloween. Halloween represents death and that’s what Billy went through during war. Vonnegut may be comparing marriage to being a prisoner of war. It seems somewhat ridiculous, but to others it may be a correct judgment.
I believe that Weary blames Billy for his death because Billy ruined "The Three Musketeers", and pulled Weary out of his fantasy of glorious war. In his fantasy, Weary and the Scouts have to drag this useless college boy through enemy territory. In Weary's mind, Billy's ineptitude is the reason the scouts left, as well as the reason they were found out by the Germans. To add insult to injury, Roland Weary, the "courageous war hero", died pathetically of disease on a prisoner train.
Billy's perception of seeing the aliens and not reacting how a human naturally would makes me feel like it's more of a dream. In our dreams we don't react like we normally would. Take for example if you saw an inanimate object talk to you in a dream you would probably respond or take it as normal. While in real life you would probably freak out and be very confused. To go along with the dream, once again, he reacts in the manor of the phrase "so it goes", he doesn't react, he just lets it happen.
I found the part where the Tralfamadorians say "Why me," is a very human question very humorous as well as truthful. In all honesty it is a quite true, us humans do always ask that question because most everyone is concerned about mainly themselves. Whether it be a life altering situation or even a minor thing, people will often ask themselves "Why me." Although it is sad that people are like this, it is indeed a very human question as it is often asked.
The scene of the backward playing WWII movie seemed very... surreal to me, to say the least. The movie shows major catastrophes and actions of the war: however, playing the movie in reverse is almost like a look into what is always meant to inevitably happen. It shows the deconstruction of weapons, the returning of fighter jets, etc. While this is happening, the narrator comments "and Hitler turned into a baby, Billy Pilgrim supposed". The way this is stated and shown through a movie makes me think about how even if you rewind a movie and go back to the beginning, it always will play out the same way every time you play it. I think this excerpt was added to relate to real life, about how history will always play out the same way every time, no matter what people do to try to change it.
I think that the Tralfamadorians are perplexed by free will because they are able to see the whole span of their lives from the day they are born. They can even go to parts of their life that shouldn’t have happened yet if time went chronologically. There is nothing they can do to change the way their life goes, they seem to only be able to experience it. This carries over to the reason why Billy Pilgrim didn’t hide from the spaceship. During his time spent with the Tralfamadorians they taught him the “truth” about time and I would expect that he believes them because it explains the strange time travel episodes he has been having. Ever since he returned to Earth he has had a changed mindset (that matches the Tralfamadorians) towards time, so much so that he incorporated “so it goes” into his own vocabulary. It is like they stripped the idea of free will from him. So while he is waiting for the spaceship he sees no use in hiding because it is what is meant to happen to him. I think that humans are brilliant for being concerned with free will. Even if it is not true I think that it is wonderful and uplifting to think that if you work hard enough of do the right things you can be in control of what happens next in your future.
The reason that the Tralfamadorian say that "Why me?" is a very human question is because it is what humans often say when they are confronted with an issue, or life, in general. Rather than think of the problem as a whole, humans often selfishly think about themselves first. I believe that the Tralfamadorians think of humans as being capable of only being concerned about themselves, rather than thinking "other people may have this problem too". In the end, "Why me?" is just a selfish response to life's problems.
I thought that the WWII movie played backwards was very humorous. It reminds me of Jaws backwards, in which a friendly shark spits out people who go to the beach and have lots of fun. This shows how movies can be so violent and always have pain and suffering instead of positive or enlightening topics. Also, the Barca-Lounger shows how lazy our species is. It is truly making fun of the fact that we are very idle and relaxed in comparison to other animals.
I don’t think Billy hid partly because he wanted to be taken. Billy knew it was going to happen and so he felt he couldn’t stop it. In addition, I think he knew it was apart of his fate to be taken and didn’t want to mess with his destiny. It really reminds me of how on television shows when the characters are traveling in time and they can't even do things as little as swatting an insect because it can change the entire course of history in their universe.
In chapter four of the novel, Billy is being abducted by aliens and does nothing about it. I feel this is the same situation as he was in during the war, always trying to stay in place and give himself up to the Germans. Billy was haunted by his history, and any form of escape or judgment that he would put forward would be blocked by his past. While he was abducted, there was a Barcalounger in the human habitat in the Tralfamadorian zoo, which implies that tralfamadorians think humans are very lazy. Toward the end of the chapter, where we return to reality, Weary blames Billy for getting him killed, as he would always push Billy onward, and when it came to the final push, they were captured after the American scouts were killed. Had Weary left Billy to die as he wished, Weary most likely could not have faced the same fate of being captured.
In this chapter, I did notice that he described the sounds of hearing an owl or a dog barking like a gong. It's been repeated several times but I'm still not sure what the significance is. I think it's a signal telling him he's about to become "unstuck" again. He hears the sound, then moments later he is in some other time. I think the reason he jumps from time so much during this part is because of the stress and everything that is happening at once. His emotional stress could be what causes him to jump at certain times. I keep forgetting that this is a framework story, another book within a book. It confuses me because it's getting hard to distinguish who is the narrator, and who is the character.
Billy knows he's going to be abducted by aliens but he does nothing about it because he knows that it will happen, no matter how much he tries to prevent it. Like the Tralfamadorians, Billy understands that events are fixed in time. His abduction is destined to happen, no matter what course of action leads up to it. He could try to hide, but what's the point? Resistance will only lead to the same -- if not worse -- outcome.
I hated Weary all the way up to the point when he was killed. He only really cared about himself and his glory and honor, so when he died, he decided to pin it on Billy. Of course Weary had to make his death very dramatic and cinematic. In movies when someone important dies, there always has to be someone to avenge their death. Even in Harry Potter when Neville Longbottom wants to kill Bellatrix Lastrange for killing his parents. Blaming Billy is just another way for Weary to live even after he's died because even though he's gone, the people that were in the boxcar with him are thinking "Who's Billy! Who's Billy! He killed Weary!" It's a good thing no one knows who he is.
I believe that the reason Billy doesn't try to escape the aliens is because he may be relieved to go with someone who believes he is telling the truth about them, maybe he enjoys his time away from earth, away from wars, away from reality. I love how much knowledge and wisdom the aliens have because when they say that the phrase "Why me?" is so American almost made me laugh. It's great because Americans expect that life is full of ups and whenever a down comes it's almost like the end of the world. The aliens accept life with the positive and negatives that fulfill it and that's a lesson we need to take away from reading this novel. Weary claims that Billy Pilgrim killed him because Weary was always staying behind and making sure Billy kept on going. The three musketeers were always split up because Weary was always stuck behind helping Billy. When the other two soldiers were killed, it killed Weary too because he was again stuck with billy and alive. He was stuck inside the train car, now a prisoner of war, all thanks to Billy Pilgrim. Billy jumps around in time a lot, i'm not sure why he does so much at the end of this chapter though.
I saw the Hobo that was on Billy’s train as somewhat as a symbol of hope, because every day he would say “this isn’t so bad”. Then when he died I saw this as all he hope was dead as well. I also found some dark humor in the fact that he was one of the first to die since he was one of the most optimistic on the train.
I think when Vonnegut used the barca-lounger he was referring to how lazy humans are. He wrote this during the 60's so if he thought that humans were lazy back then, he would be amazed at how lazy we are today.
I believe that when Billy is sleeping he is seeing all the future and past experiences in his life and he is experiencing what he feels about them in his sleep. Billy doesn’t have much emotion during the war so he must get it out while he sleeps. He may be experiencing his wife dying, his father dying, or even the stress from being a prisoner of war.
I agree with all the comments that state that we as a species tend to place ourselves ahead of others. I find this to be true, simply because I can confirm that I have put myself ahead of others on many different occasions. People tend to make sure that they get the better outcome because it provides a security blanket for themselves and leaves little room for mistakes or wrong-doing. We don't like things to go bad for ourselves, and that shows because Billy does not want things to get worse than they are.
When Billy asks "Why me" and the Tralfamadorians say its a really human question, they say it because of their belief that the course of peoples lives are locked into their fate, nothing can change it and they're fate is final and is exactly what will happen. Billy may not try to run or hide from the aliens knowing they're going to abduct him because he may also believe that because of them, no matter what its his fate and its going to happen.
I think even though Billy knew he was going to be abducted he didn’t try to run away or hide because he wanted something out of the ordinary to happen to him or maybe he thought that if he got kidnapped then he wouldn’t have to live on earth anymore because he wasn’t really satisfied with himself or anything on earth so he thought something out of this world might change his perspective. I think that the Tralfamadorians say that “Why me” is a very human question because it seems like the aliens just go with things and as humans we are always questioning the why or why not instead of just going with the flow.
While I was reading I was shocked that Weary blamed Billy for his death, but then again if I were in his shoes(or lack of shoes) I may have felt the same way about it. I think this is another instance in which someone who the reader and the author is trying to portray as tough or not the one who seems like the target of death is killed off and Billy who seems to be under an invisibility cloak to death seems to come out of the situation with minimal problems. Weary was also a very violent person and when he knew he was dying he was trying to be remembered as violent and he wanted Billy to remember that it was his fault and try to make him feel guilty.
I thought that the hobo character was an interesting tough for the story. No matter how bad things got they weren’t as bad as they could be. Even though most of the men thought that they were probably at their lowest and would never make it home he kept a positive spirit which is a cool yet different approach to have especially as a hobo.
Billy’s daughter having a black and orange themed wedding isn’t surprising based on some of the crazy things Billy has done. I love how he just waits for the aliens to come and take him, like it’s normal to him, where most people would be trying to hide. (Can you hide from aliens trying to abduct you?) He uses the “So it goes” phrase again when the wine bottle goes flat; another thing that he cannot change, and just accepts. I think it was kind of cool the way he watched the war movie backwards and forwards, and the movie itself seemed like it might have been something he saw while in the war and was a flashback. It’s funny how Weary makes sure everyone on his train car knows that Billy Pilgrim is the person that killed him while he was still alive, and Weary could’ve left Billy behind any time and saved himself. Billy jumps in time a lot because it’s when the war is getting really rough and he was stuck in a train car then at a German jail, and the time-travelling was his way of escaping the pressures of the war.
When Billy describes his means of "killing time" before the tralfamadorians come to abduct him, I guess I was not wondering why he did not run away. At this point I feel as though Billy enjoys the mass ok knowledge he gains from these alien creatures. On the other hand, Billy must somewhat not want to be abducted by an unknown alien race. Also, after learning over the past four years about the absolutely terrible tortures in the extermination camps, it's very sad hearing it happen to Billy. The living conditions Billy undergoes in the cattle car are obscene. Even though I have read about them before, the main character Billy which I have grown to know and love is now actually living it. I believe that Weary blames Billy for his death because Weary kept trying to save Billy instead of saving himself. In turn, Billy ended up getting them both caught be Germans and imprisoned. Overall I do love the book so far, but would love it if Billy was able to keep his thoughts more organized.
Billy knows he is being abducted and yet he does nothing. I feel that he doesn't try and change what he thinks is going to happen because he wants it to happen. I think he may view being "abducted" or what he thinks is him being abducted as a way to escape the real world. Maybe he thinks being abducted is better then being on Earth? Is he dreaming all of this as a way to escape? What could bother him so much to make him have such vivid dreams, if they are dreams? I can imagine he is scared but nothing can be scarier then what he has already been through in life. It's devastating to find out that Billy , who is generally a nice guy, was stuck in a cattle car for so long. It's hard to read although I have heard and read about them before it's still gross and heart wrenching in a way. As far as "why me" goes I feel like all humans have asked themselves this at least once. One of my favorite quotes goes" Don't worry if things are bad now they will change, and don't worry if things are good because they will change to." Aliens don't seem to worry about "why me."
The aliens believe why me is a human question because humans believe in free will. This means aliens believe in predestination and humans should be obediant. Also, I find it very interesting when the World War 2 movie was played backwards. It showed how people should do the right thing and save lives. It was very ironic imagery. Sometimes it would be nice to play moments in your life backward so you could undo something stupid you did or said.
The aliens in this story are quite interesting. I like how they point out the odd things that humans do. One of them being 'free will' and the questions that Billy asks. The aliens seem to know the answer to almost everything. Although its odd how Billy was willing to go with the aliens without a fight or struggling then he questioned why they were taking him. He kinda just accepted that they were coming for him. Like he's played out every possible scenario in his head and this was the best one to go by.
I think that Billy wants to test his time traveling out and see if it is actually true, and that’s why he doesn’t try to change his fate of being abducted by the Tralfamadorians. The Tralfamadorians say that “Why me” is a very human question because all humans always ask why the have to go through something. Whether it be good or bad, humans are always wondering why they were meant to go through a certain situation. When good things happen to us, it’s a good why me. It’s like a why am I so lucky. But when bad things happen to us, it’s like a why do I have to suffer through this. I think Billy’s PTSD is most of the reason why he is so violent when he sleeps. His reality has changed from that because he doesn’t get a clear head to face life with, he just has all these bad experiences and things in his mind all the time. Billy just confuses me because I don’t understand what is wrong with him. I am guessing he has PTSD, but I don’t understand his time traveling thing. It just all seems so bizarre. I haven’t really quite figured out why Billy is the way he is, but he sure is crazy.
I don't think Billy makes any attempt to change his fate because he has adopted the Tralfamadorian's view on free will. He knows that nothing he does will change his destiny, and that he will always be connected to them no matter how much he tries to resist. They have expressed to him that they feel life is in a way predetermined, and that every moment he will ever experience has already been set.I also believe Billy is so violent when he is asleep because he is mentally battling multiple time lapses between the past, presence and future. I don't think he is aware of how violent he is capable of getting and the amount of aggression the time traveling brings out of him.
When Billy came "unstuck in time" and saw that movie backwards, I think that it was his subconscious showing him what he truly wished had happened instead of the war. Backwards, the film is about different people from different countries coming together to help solve one another's problems. It's quite a beautiful story, to be honest. Men from around the world help save people and towns and planes, regardless of race and religion and heritage. "...Put them into the ground, hide them cleverly, so they would never hurt anybody ever again," (75). Actions this selfless don't happen in our world, at least not often enough to make them regular occurrences. I think that seeing this movie backwards THEN forwards shows the loss of Billy's childish innocence, and how the war had forced him into his ugly reality. A reality too ugly for his mind to handle, so he created these fantasies of abductions and human zoos as his personal coping mechanism.
I think that the reason Billy doesn't try to escape the aliens is because he is enjoying his time away from wars and reality. When the Tralfamadorians say "Why Me" is because we as humans always ask each other why god put us through that situation. We all know that God has a plan for each of us and we may never know why we are put through that situation whether it is good or bad! I believe that the reason Billy is violent when he sleeps because of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most people who suffer from PTSD tend to be semi crazy which reminds me of Billy in so many ways!
"Why me" is something I say to myself often. I think he is using it as we use it as we do when something is going wrong. We question why God puts us through such tough battles all the time when there are people much more deserving of bad things. I think Billy wants to be will the aliens to escape from reality. He is definitely struggling with the PTSD and being away is helping him escape his problems.
During chapter four Billy gets abducted by aliens and for some reason he doesn't do anything about it. This closely resembles the way he acted during the war. He was always making an attempt to give himself up to the Germans and stay in the same area. During Billy's abduction there was a Barcalounger in the human habitat. This gave me the impression that the Tralfamadorians thought that humans were lacking intelligent and were lazy.
Ok this chapter really weirded me out with all the alien stuff. The fact this man was so sure that these thing were completely real. I feel as though these alien is just his subconscious dealing with all the stuff that he witness during the war or it him escaping reality because he knows how harsh real life is and wants to escape to a better place where he feels safe. When he talk about these creature coming and taking him before his daughters wedding I think it was more of a coping mechanism he has to go before dealing with reality of handing his daughter off to another man and giving her away. But one things is for sure these aliens and him are sure plan whack jobs.
I believe the reason that the Germans shot the 2 scouts instead of Billy and Weary is because they seems like easy prisoners. The fact that they were both American soldiers fighting each other made them seem stupid. The others weren't doing anything so you don't know what to expect from them. It was wiser to just get rid of them rather then try to capture them. Unfortunately for Billy and Weary the Germans caught them at a bad time.
The WWII movie that Billy describes backwards is actually a touching story. War in reverse is simply about how all the countries come together to fix problems and suck up all the hurt and pain and suffering. Their guns heal the wounded, their planes fly backwards and contain the fire. America and France and Germany all help each other and help all the humans be healthy and happy. If wars could happen in reverse and we could undo the pain and suffering of others, this world would be a much more beautiful place to be! On a completely different note, Billy says "Why me" which I'm sure is a thought that has crossed all of our minds before. We wonder why we have to deal with the struggles we have and ask that question of "why me". Why do bad things or GOOD things happen to anyone? Does it have less to do with you specifically and more to do with fate? Or is everything simply random? Is their even a great being who can answer these questions? The aliens say that that is such an earthlings thing to say, meaning that they have a higher understanding and that nothing happens because you are a certain person. Even in Billy's own mind (assuming that the aliens are all a figment of his imagination) he receives no enlightenment as to why he was chosen. The "greater being" that Billy turns too offers him nothing other than pointing out how ridiculous of a question it was to ask in the first place, but maybe that was his enlightenment.
Billy's way of seeing aliens is unique and quite different than any normal human would react which makes it all not seem so real. I feel as if the only way Billy can get away from his thoughts is to go into this alien fantasy of his, there he is safe from the tragedies and can go on with life.
Billy doesn't hide from the aliens because he knows his "path" is inevitable. He uses the aliens as a way to deal with his post dramatic stress disorder. It's his way of coping.
When Billy is abducted by the Tralfamadorians, they explain to him how much they despise the human race and that we as a race are very conceited and all about ourselves. I feel as though that it is a true statement in some ways, but also very arrogant and one-sided. When he's watching the war movie in reverse, it's a very intriguing concept. Maybe if we flipped the way we did things, we would find world peace. Instead of building bombs, disassemble them and bury the parts. Brilliant. Very unrealistic, but it makes your mind really ponder the concept.
Clearly billy has had some major problems that have dealt with the war. Every last detail is starting to come back to him. the sound the train makes when its stopping is represented by the owl also the black and orange tent is appeared in the train. this always happens to me when I remember very weird and awkward situatiions that happened to me when I was a little kid. As a kid I did not think much of it but looking back on it it certian situations bothers me
Since he has nightmares, reflecting his past war memories and experiences, he is very violent when he sleeps. Not only that, but everyone rejects him because of his sleep problems. To avoid these issues, he chooses not to sleep as much, causing him to "lose his mind", or break from reality. This further deepens into stronger, more problematic situations involving him confronting his past.
Time has been up for...26 minutes...
Shlama is in Swahili right now and they go by Pacific Mountain time, you gotta make an exception!
I feel like the reason Billy didn't do anything to stop the Tralfamadorians from kidnapping him is because, he knew what was going to happen. He has seen it before and I think that he actually enjoys being with them. Their customs are just very strange to use. I think he wanted to be taken by them so they he could learn new things about life. Why would you run from something that teaches you new and creative things.
I think Billy just accepts that he’s going to be abducted because he simply doesn’t enjoy life. Being depressed, he probably sees getting out as almost comforting. He likes the idea of being abducted and being away from reality for awhile. Maybe he believes that these life forms will be intelligent and can tell him the answer to things or make him feel better. Anything to get him away from the war, from home, from all the time travelling. I think that’s also why he was smiling so much as a prisoner of war. He was looking forward to the end and all the crappy conditions.
quite honestly the bottle of champagne was my favorite part of the book it showed that this dark heavy serious book could be funny, and that the author could be funny while playing by the rules of the book was brilliant. i also loved the idea of free will in this book because it brings up the many different possible points. if we know our future can we change it? or are we doomed to live out our futures regardless. and i like that the book makes it more hopeless by showing that he is doomed to live it. i love how weary blames billy for his death because he would have died anyway just sooner and more proudly. is it not the responsibility of the military to protect their own?
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