"One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from becoming characters. but old Derby was a character now." pg 164
This is a more depressing view of what veterans experience after war. But it makes sense. They are so trodden down, beaten up, and demoralized by war that sometimes they come home almost empty. When you are a prisoner of war, like Billy was, making yourself more noticeable than other POWs was a bad idea. If you attract attention, you could get killed. So it's best to blend in and keep your head down in order to survive. So if you came home after months, years even of trying to save your skin by avoiding attention, it would be hard to go back to normal. Your personality, or character might end up a little repressed due to wartime trauma. This condition could explain why Billy was so reluctant to talk when he was in the veteran's hospital. He was so used to being a nobody that he didn't know how to be a somebody again.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Slaughter House 5- First Soldier on the Moon
"It was like the moon." pg 179
This is how Billy describes what Dresden looks like after it has been bombed. Buildings are flattened and everything is covered in grey ash. This exact quote was told to one of the Tralfamadorians. Billy and the Tralfamadorian were just having a discussion over the differences between Earth and Tralfamadore. Billy is noting all the differences between Earth and Tralfamadore. Then he compares Earth to the moon after the Dresden bombing. This shows how different Dresden was after the attack. Like it was even the same planet. This is perhaps where Billy's idea of inventing Tralfamadore came from. He created a whole new planet because he couldn't reconcile that is beautiful, familiar earth had been transformed into a surreal new planet that he didn't recognize. So he created a third planet; a place where didn't destroy whole cities. A place where he could contrast with Earth safely, without sending his world spinning.
This is how Billy describes what Dresden looks like after it has been bombed. Buildings are flattened and everything is covered in grey ash. This exact quote was told to one of the Tralfamadorians. Billy and the Tralfamadorian were just having a discussion over the differences between Earth and Tralfamadore. Billy is noting all the differences between Earth and Tralfamadore. Then he compares Earth to the moon after the Dresden bombing. This shows how different Dresden was after the attack. Like it was even the same planet. This is perhaps where Billy's idea of inventing Tralfamadore came from. He created a whole new planet because he couldn't reconcile that is beautiful, familiar earth had been transformed into a surreal new planet that he didn't recognize. So he created a third planet; a place where didn't destroy whole cities. A place where he could contrast with Earth safely, without sending his world spinning.
Slaughter House 5- Confliction
"I don't ever want to talk about it, I just want you to know: I was there." pg 193
I believe this quote defines a lot of Billy's attitudes towards his war experience. He is in the veteran's hospital, almost in a completely vegetative state. The man in the bed next to him refuses to believe Billy could every be anything of worth, let alone fight in a war. Billy finally gets the courage to tell his bedmate that he really was in the war. While trying to convince him, Billy says the quote above. Billy wants people to know he was in the war. It explains a lot about him, and about why he is so weird and sort of messed up. But he isn't interested in talking about his war experience to them. He would rather make up crazy stories about aliens on a different planet than talk about what actually happened. It's the age-old conflict of people who are not extroverts, but not exactly introverted either. They don't want to tell people things, but at the same time, they want people to know things about themselves. Billy's conflict is natural, and an accurate portrayal of his personality.
I believe this quote defines a lot of Billy's attitudes towards his war experience. He is in the veteran's hospital, almost in a completely vegetative state. The man in the bed next to him refuses to believe Billy could every be anything of worth, let alone fight in a war. Billy finally gets the courage to tell his bedmate that he really was in the war. While trying to convince him, Billy says the quote above. Billy wants people to know he was in the war. It explains a lot about him, and about why he is so weird and sort of messed up. But he isn't interested in talking about his war experience to them. He would rather make up crazy stories about aliens on a different planet than talk about what actually happened. It's the age-old conflict of people who are not extroverts, but not exactly introverted either. They don't want to tell people things, but at the same time, they want people to know things about themselves. Billy's conflict is natural, and an accurate portrayal of his personality.
Slaughter House 5- Money Tree $$
"Trout had written a book about a money tree. It had $20 for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer." pg 167
Vonnegut has made good use of his sarcastic irony so far, but this time, he outdid himself. This is an analogy between war and a battle over a money tree. It also suggests personal beliefs of Vonnegut's that all war essentially has its proverbial roots in money. The humans that kill each other around the tree are the creatures of war. None of them get the tree because they all die defending it. Just how war is essentially spending a ridiculous amount of money on an activity that kills citizens of the participating countries. Their bodies fertilize the ground so the tree only grows more. This shows how war only perpetuates itself the more people die. Vonnegut's analogy is not only a bitter reflection on war, but a humorous interpretation of how it all goes.
Vonnegut has made good use of his sarcastic irony so far, but this time, he outdid himself. This is an analogy between war and a battle over a money tree. It also suggests personal beliefs of Vonnegut's that all war essentially has its proverbial roots in money. The humans that kill each other around the tree are the creatures of war. None of them get the tree because they all die defending it. Just how war is essentially spending a ridiculous amount of money on an activity that kills citizens of the participating countries. Their bodies fertilize the ground so the tree only grows more. This shows how war only perpetuates itself the more people die. Vonnegut's analogy is not only a bitter reflection on war, but a humorous interpretation of how it all goes.
Slaughter House 5- Still Running
"Billy fled upstairs in his nice white home." pg 176
Billy passed out and had a flashback of the war time. He was at a party at the time. A party where he had planned to propose to his girlfriend, Valencia. When he woke up, he handed her the ring and ran upstairs, as demonstrated in the quote above. There is irony in this quote that I didn't catch immediately, and has implications concerning the entire book. When this party happens, Billy is no longer in the war. He is in a "nice, white home". But somehow, the war, and his memories of it still has power over him. The war can still send him running. This is a possible explanation for the "flashbacks" also. They're the way that the war haunts him, but also provide him with an escape. It's an endless cycle between Billy and his memories. He can't let them go, but he can't shake the power they have over him, so he is still running.
Billy passed out and had a flashback of the war time. He was at a party at the time. A party where he had planned to propose to his girlfriend, Valencia. When he woke up, he handed her the ring and ran upstairs, as demonstrated in the quote above. There is irony in this quote that I didn't catch immediately, and has implications concerning the entire book. When this party happens, Billy is no longer in the war. He is in a "nice, white home". But somehow, the war, and his memories of it still has power over him. The war can still send him running. This is a possible explanation for the "flashbacks" also. They're the way that the war haunts him, but also provide him with an escape. It's an endless cycle between Billy and his memories. He can't let them go, but he can't shake the power they have over him, so he is still running.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Slaughter House 5: Jesus the Bum
"He told the people he was adopting the bum as his son, giving him the full powers and privileges of the Son of the Creator of the Universe throughout all eternity. God said this: 'From this moment on, He will punish horribly anybody who torments a bum who has no connections!'"- pg 110
This is the modern version of the story of God and his Son. It is a version that Billy tells himself while he is suffering at the hands of Weary, the fat soldier who loves to beat Billy up, but at the the same time won't leave him behind. This a version of the story that Billy can relate to. It comforts him, and helps him get through his ordeal. Billy is beginning to show a very reliable pattern of believing in things he makes up so that his life doesn't seem so tragic and horrible as it really is. And it is working surprisingly well for him.
This is the modern version of the story of God and his Son. It is a version that Billy tells himself while he is suffering at the hands of Weary, the fat soldier who loves to beat Billy up, but at the the same time won't leave him behind. This a version of the story that Billy can relate to. It comforts him, and helps him get through his ordeal. Billy is beginning to show a very reliable pattern of believing in things he makes up so that his life doesn't seem so tragic and horrible as it really is. And it is working surprisingly well for him.
Slaughter House 5: So it Goes
"So it goes." pg 75
So it goes. Mustard gas and roses. Ivory and blue. All three of these phrases are frequently repeated throughout the novel. So it goes is a phrase that is repeated after every time anybody dies. And this is a book about war, so people die. A lot. Like, really a lot. Mustard gas and roses is a phrase that is repeated after every time someone gets drunk; it used to describe the smell of their breath. And this is a book about war, so people get drunk. A lot. Like, really a lot. Ivory and blue is a phrase used to describe what people look like when they get cold, usually about people's feet. And this is a book about war (in northernish Europe), so people get cold. A lot. Like, really a lot. The repetition of these phrases helps emphasize certain aspects of the war, like cold, alcoholism, and death, but in a very snide, clever way ( a theme with Vonnegut, I think).
So it goes. Mustard gas and roses. Ivory and blue. All three of these phrases are frequently repeated throughout the novel. So it goes is a phrase that is repeated after every time anybody dies. And this is a book about war, so people die. A lot. Like, really a lot. Mustard gas and roses is a phrase that is repeated after every time someone gets drunk; it used to describe the smell of their breath. And this is a book about war, so people get drunk. A lot. Like, really a lot. Ivory and blue is a phrase used to describe what people look like when they get cold, usually about people's feet. And this is a book about war (in northernish Europe), so people get cold. A lot. Like, really a lot. The repetition of these phrases helps emphasize certain aspects of the war, like cold, alcoholism, and death, but in a very snide, clever way ( a theme with Vonnegut, I think).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)