Symbolism In Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse Five tells the story of Billy Pilgrim who has become “unstuck in time.” Young Billy is born and raised in Ilium, New York, he is "tall and weak, and shaped like a bottle of Coca-Cola," and studying to be an optometrist. He is drafted into the U.S. military and despite his scrawny, weak build, he is sent to Europe to fight. While fighting in Germany, Billy is all of a sudden sent to 1968, where the plane he was on has crashed into the mountains of Vermont. He becomes aware that we possesses the ability to travel uncontrollably through time, as he skips around all different events in his lifetime, from being a prisoner of war in Dresden during World War II, to being abducted by Tralfamadorians, an alien race on the planet Tralfamadore
that abduct him. All throughout the novel, Kurt Vonnegut illustrates his argument that life is full of uncontrollable events, both negative and positive. He stresses the importance of focusing on the positive moments rather than dwelling on the negative ones but to never completely forget. Connecting his own experiences as a soldier and prisoner of war in World War II, Vonnegut supports his claim through three different themes; the destructiveness of war and violence, the belief of free will, and the importance of time. Through several of Billy 's experiences, Vonnegut shows the reader how war and violence cause destruction. In chapter nine, Billy is in Dresden along with the American soldiers. After leaving the prison camp, they found horses and have been using them as transportation. As the other soldiers leave to look around the area, Billy stays and sees that the horses were in pain. “The horses’ mouths were bleeding, gashed by the bits, that the horses’ hooves were broken, so that every step meant agony, that 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.” (Vonnegut, 1972, 196). This illustrates Vonnegut’s bias against war as it not only causes pain and suffering for humans, but also for innocent creatures such as horses and the ignorance caused by violence to surroundings and other people’s suffering. Another example of destruction by war was when old Edgar Darby was caught looting a teapot from the rubble. He was given a trial and was executed. Vonnegut bias is evident again, showing that even though they are supposed to be fighting the enemy, they find a way to use violence against one of their own. In Chapter 3, Billy is driving to an Lions Club luncheon through the Ilium ghetto neighborhood of his birthplace and hometown, when he sees a car explode due to riots in the area. Billy is immediately reminded of the Dresden firebombing. This shows that violence can cause suffering and destruction outside of war. Despite the horrible violence that takes place not only in this novel but all around, it’s important to remember what has happened yet has a greater value to focus on the more optimistic points in life.
Vonnegut uses several phrases to symbolize how war causes destruction.The phrase “Poo-tee-weet?” plays a significant part in the novel.
Vonnegut talks about the massacre of Dresden, saying; “Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say are things like “Poo-tee-weet?” (Vonnegut, 1972, 19). The birds symbolize the lack of anything intelligent or anything at all to say after a massacre. The birds say “Poo-tee-weet?” because what else can be said about the Dresden firebombing? What else can be said about such a terrible event? The birds say “Poo-tee-weet?” as a question, but we are unable to give them an answer about the destruction of war and violence. The phrase “so it goes” first shown on Page 2 after Vonnegut talks about the death of the cab driver’s wife in Dresden and appears after every death in the story. This equalizes all deaths in the novel and shows that no matter what, death is inevitable. Vonnegut’s bias against war is clear as it tracks the number of the deaths war and violence creates. By using these phrases in the novel, Vonnegut shows that because death is inevitable and uncontrollable, focusing on the positive moments in a lifetime is better than focusing on negative moments
instead.
In Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut talks about the existence of free will, the ability to alter a person’s future, and whether humans possess this ability.
In chapter four, as Billy is captured by the Tralfamadorians on the night of his daughter Barbara’s wedding, he is immediately educated on their beliefs, mainly on free will. He is told that free will simply does not exist and that everything that happens in a person’s life is predestined and unchangeable. As the novel continues, Billy learns to accept the idea of free will being nonexistent. All of the events in his life are simply uncontrollable and he is able to travel throughout various events in his life with ease. He is never sure when it will take place, where he will go, or how long he will be there. He knows how he’s going to die, when he’s going to be in a plane crash in Vermont, and when the firebombing of Dresden is going to happen. He accepts the fact that all these things are going to happen but they’re unavoidable and cannot be changed. This relates back to Vonnegut’s main thesis that life is full of uncontrollable, inevitable events as Billy, and all others (both humans and fictional alien races), do not have the power to control their life. This concept is helpful to Billy as he must cope with all of the death and destruction that occurred around him; the death of his wife Valencia, father, fellow American soldiers/prisoners of war. It offers him a sense of comfort to have the knowledge that even though
humans suffer, there is nothing to do about it. Vonnegut shows his bias for the Tralfamadorians, as they are straightforward with the idea of free will being nonexistent which Vonnegut believes.
In Slaughterhouse Five, both Billy and Kurt Vonnegut reflect on their time spent living, especially in World War II and Dresden. Vonnegut was a former American soldier who was captured and became a prisoner of war during World War II. He was imprisoned in Schlachthof Fünf (Slaughterhouse Five) and liberated by the Red Army and given a Purple Heart upon returning to the United States. He reflects on his time in the war in Chapter 1, talking from an autobiographical standpoint about his own memories, his research, and his return to Dresden twenty-three years after his time fighting with his war buddy, Bernard O’Hare. Vonnegut talks about how he wrote Slaughterhouse Five in order to preserve and protect his memories of war, as awful as they may have been they play a significant role in his life. This relates back to his thesis, that although he chooses to focus more on positive events in his life, if he doesn’t preserve his negative memories by writing about them, they will become forgotten and no one will remember them and the atrocities that occurred in World War II. Because of his time as a soldier, Vonnegut is bias against war, loathing his time being exposed to horrific violence at such a young age.
Billy’s reflection on time is more literal than Vonnegut’s. His uncontrollable time travelling makes him unsure of what moment will truly be his last or whether he’ll just be thrown through time again. Billy has such little control over his life and never knows what is going to happen next, whether he will be sent to his childhood, on a family vacation to the American West, or on the night of his daughter Barbara’s wedding, waiting to be abducted by the Tralfamadorians. He can only believe what the Tralfamadorians have told him; that along with free will, time is merely an illusion. Vonnegut uses this idea to relate back to his thesis, showing that no one knows when will be their last moment of life, regardless of whether they are time travelling or not as it is completely unmanageable. This shows Vonnegut’s belief that humans should live every moment like it is your last and focusing on the more positive aspects of life than negative.
Overall, Vonnegut does an excellent job of weaving fact and fiction together in Slaughterhouse Five, intertwining his own experiences with the fictional character Billy Pilgrim. As Billy becomes “unstuck in time” and begins to time travel, Vonnegut stresses his main thesis that life is full of both negative and positive events that can’t always be controlled. Billy’s journey shows the importance of focusing on the positive moments rather than dwelling on the negative ones. Vonnegut’s successfully states his claim by strongly supporting it with three different themes; the destructiveness of war and violence, the belief of free will, and the importance of time.
Citations
1). Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-five: Or, the Children 's Crusade, a Duty-Dance with Death. New York: Delacorte Press, 1969. Print.