Sarcharismatic

When the time came for Slaughterhouse Five to end, the question of who Vonnegut is in the novel lingers. Not only are appearances such as unexpected "me's" and "I's", witnessed by the reader like I mentioned in prior blogs, useful for finding clues, but we sense an inclination, reflection and even portrayal of Vonnegut through characters such as Kilgore Trout. The sarcasm and irony radiated by the character through dialogue, confirms a conspicous yet somewhat mysterious connection with the way the story of Billy Pilgrim is narrated. "Billy coughed when the door was opened, and when he coughed he shit thin gruel. This was in accordance with the Third Law of Motion according to Sir Isaac Newton. This law tells us that for every action there is a reaction which is equal and opposite in 

direction. This can be useful in rocketry." (Page 80.) 

It is because of the "me's" and "I's" that we know for certain that Vonnegut is a witness to Billy's story. The last chapter of the novel begins in a first person narration, indicating it is Vonnegut himself who is addressing the reader. "Robert Kennedy, whose summer home is eight miles from the home I live in all year round, was shot tow nights ago. He died last night. So it goes." (Page 210). We obtain proof of him being a witness to Billy's life from page 213 on, where Vonnegut goes back to being the third person narrator we know so well. "One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, 'Poo-tee-weet?'" (Page 215).

Ironic as the thrid person, omnicient narrator is, the level of it, is compatible to the level of sarcasm demonstrated by Trout. "' All the great chefs in the world are there. It's a beautiful ceremony.' Trout was making this up as he went along. 'Just before the casket is closed, the mourners sprinkle parsley and paprika on the deceased.' So it goes. 'Did that really happen?' Of course it happened,' Trout told her. 'If I wrote something that hadn't really happened, and I tried to sell it, I could go to jail. That's fraud.'" (Page 171). If I believe there is a symbol or an adequate example for stupid, Maggie White gets the honor of being it.

Going further in depth in the analysis of the character of Billy Pilgrim, we wonder what it is about him that could have inspired such a story in Vonnegut. Why tell us about a war experience, not through the eyes, but life of such an stoic and simple person like Billy. As discussed in class, a comparison between Billy and Jesus was bound to come up. "'I'll shut up when Pilgrim gets away from here.' So Billy stood up again, clung to the cross-brace. 'Where can I sleep?' He asked quietly. 'Not with me.' 'Not with me, you son of a bitch,' said somebody else. 'You yell. You kick.' 'I do?'" (Page 78.) I suspect Billy knew about those who dreamed of killing him in the hopes of avenging Roland Weary, who claimed Billy was the reason for his death, and not unlike Jesus, Billy still maintained his indifference in what I found an infuriating way. Every time he failed to defend himself against other's accusations or comments, I'd get the urge to smack him in the face, if I only could. While this happens with Billy, I doubt it'd happen when and if I ever read about Jesus, due to the fact that at least Jesus knew what he was doing. I always get the feeling that not only is Billy annoyingly careless, but stupid as well (although not nearly as stupid as Maggie). I think we can all agree Billy is not a very charismatic optometrist. Vonnegut on the other hand has been proved and crowned in my eyes the lord of irony and sarcasm. 

Slaughterhouse Five, is an antiwar novel based on the life of a simple man that pays no attention to either his surroundings or his life experiences, narrated in the most charismatic way possible by an author that knows the ways of the world and aims for nerves, with arrows dipped in cold, dark humor. "Kilgore Trout laughed uproariously. A salmon egg flew out of his mouth and landed in Maggie's cleavage." (Page 172).

"Before the Americans could go inside, their only English-speaking guard told them to memorize their simple address, in case they got lost in the big city. Their address was this: 'Schlachthoffunf.' Schlachthof meant slaughterhouse. Funf was good old five." (Page 153).

"Um."

The continued, mysterious appearances of "me's" and "I's" intrigue me to a point where I find myself turning and reading page after page, anticipating, guessing and waiting in suspense for the next to appear. "That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book" (page 125).

Other phrases or even excerpts that catch my eye and make me stop and think for a moment or two are those such as: "There was a slight coincidence here. Billy Pilgrim would later share a hospital room with Rumfroods uncle, Professor Bertram Copeland Rumfrood of Harvard, official Historian of the United States Air Force." As I paused and thought about this, I caught a hint of foreshadowing in it. Why mention the Air Force? If I remember correctly, Chapter 1 of the book mentions how the Air Force denied Vonnegut evidence from World War II. I can't help but wonder why it's brought up toward the end of the segment. Usually the last thing said at the end of chapters or paragraphs is of great importance, because it's where readers end their reading sessions. This makes the last idea mentioned or described fresh in the mind of the reader, causing reflection and further analysis easier.


Could it be that this "Professor" will somehow divulge his knowledge that the air force denied Vonnegut? My inclination toward this idea is based on the fact that said "professor" is a Historian for the Air Force, and since we know, that Billy will meet him after his marriage to Valencia, it is safe to say that World War II is already history.

The Clearly Confused

A lot of the confusion I was experiencing was cleared when an "I" was used in the last sentence of the last paragraph on page 67. After Billy engages in conversation with a colonel that was so exhausted that mental unstableness and hallucinations were stepping in, the next sentence caught me, somewhat off guard. "I was there. So was my old war buddy, Bernard V. O'Hare." In a previous blog I questioned the relationship between Billy Pilgrim and Bernard, but now I realize that the first chapter was not by Billy himself but by, my guess is, Kurt Vonnegut. This explains the incoherence between the first and second chapters, for they weren't exactly written from the same point of view, nor were they about the same person. From this point on, as a reader, I realize the reason of why the book is narrated in third person. Kurt Vonnegut is merely a witness to Billy's life in and out of war. This also explains why the very first sentence of the book would be "All this happened, more or less." As if trying to convince us that the book really is based on a true story, this sentence in a way gives the author away. By stating it, he exposes his worry of readers not believing what he writes. It's clearly an attempt at persuading us to understand the book as something true, when it may not be the case at all. 


I thought I was understanding if not all, at least something, but this revelation makes me see that I was no where near the truth. I only now understand that the only thing that was clear, was my own confusion.

Travel Like No One Else

As I read chapter three of Slaughterhouse Five I caught details within it that made me realize that my prediction about the book was wrong. It wasn't going to end up being like a puzzle in which every chapter is a new and somehow random piece, which would in the end come together and show Billy Pilgrim's true story. Even though the Trafalmadorians aren't as mentioned in this chapter as much as they were in the previous one, phrases such as "Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present and the future" helps readers infer and make the connection between the Trafalmadorians way of life and Billy's. Also, this chapter is clearly a coherent continuum of chapter two, for the facts and story line are now clearly connected, unlike those of chapter one and two. Another sentence that caught my attention was "There was a crippled man down there, as spastic in space as Billy Pilgrim was in time." It was another piece of evidence proving that the book was definitely about the relationship Billy Pilgrim has with time. Although in a way it's hard to keep track of what year he is in because of details like "His daughter Barbara was about to get married and she and his wife had gone downtown to pick out patterns for her crystal and silverware" which tells us who's around. Last time we heard anything about Billy's wife, she had died of carbon monoxide poisoning while Billy recovered from his air plane accident, at the beginning of chapter two.


"There was a tiny white plume of smoke at infinity. There was a battle down there. People were dying there. So it goes." In context, two German citizens find it entertaining to film the incoming of humiliated American prisoners, but with that semi-paragraph, the author is telling us how they find it even more interesting and maybe even fun, the thought that they can see the smoke from a battle field far away. The sentence "Now they were going to take prisoners into Germany's interior" followed by "Flashlight beams danced crazily" explains how good the German's must have felt for coming home victorious from war. "Beams danced crazily" are words that resemble movements made by those who are happy and excited. This demonstrates the cruelty that war causes. To be celebrating for the death and pain of so many might as well condemn you to eternal fire, regardless of who or why you did so.

The Power of Irony

Irony is perhaps the base of this book. Everything that happens ends or follows an ironic note. It is because of this that this book may very well be of the funniest I have read. It reminds me of the family jokes and black humor my mother loves and my father despises. 

To find the war buddy you haven't seen or talked since the war itself, and not be able to remember what really happened during the war, is just sad yet ironic. For the first shot of your life as a soldier and tank gunner to miss and expose the location as well as bring death upon your whole crew, is extremely ironic and tragic. To be saved by the bully of bullies, and then sniffed out by what was thought to be a menacing and fierce dog, which turned out to be a scared and confused female called Princess, is so ironic it might as well become a world wide example for the word itself. 

The power of irony depends on the personality "of the beholder". To someone who is sentimental and sensitive to things concerning someone or something else, irony can be a cold hearted remark. For those that are callous and take nothing personally, irony can be the light at the end of a dark and dull tunnel. The enjoyment of irony falls upon the mercy and experience of the one who comes across it. To me, irony is a delight and privilege not all are aware of. This is, perhaps, what makes this novel a precious form of entertainment that I have come to know as a constant highlight of my academic life and demands. 

Slaughterhouse Five has spoken of so many different yet crucial things in life such as time, imagination, war and humor, that the only thing I fear is that it will not mention the topics of death and misery, which would cause a great feeling of disappointment in me. High expectations is what I have built as I advance further along the book, and I sincerely hope it will, not only meet them, but go above and beyond.  

So it Goes When the Time is Ripe

Time passes and things happen. A brief introduction to who Billy Pilgrim is and was. His parents, fiancee, children and work. His life. So it goes. In the previous chapter we were told the story of a middle aged man looking to remember what happened in Dresden from a soldier's point of view, in order to write a book about it. Now, we are expected to believe that it was not an episode important enough to be mentioned in this quick overview of his life. Everything we thought we knew about Billy during the war is now contradicted. According to this chapter, Billy had no friends during his service, nor did he ever bear arms and attack the enemy. He was just a chaplains assistant, who had a "meek faith in a loving Jesus". Does this mean Bernard V. O'Hare doesn't exist? Unlike before, in the beginning of this chapter Billy Pilgrim is described as a man who went crazy after his wife's death and flight accident. Having been the only man to visit the alien planet of Tralfamadore, he retires after the plane crash and dedicates his time to telling his wondrous tale. The teachings of the Tralfamadorians are passed on to the humans as the "truth about time" is divulged in a talkshow in New York City. So it goes.


The mixed up primary events of the story confuse me, but I have to admit that I like this better, and I can't wait to find out what the next chapter will be about. Will it all be like this? Like puzzle pieces that will in the end fit together to show the life of the true Billy Pilgrim? Maybe when the time is ripe, we will all come tu understand the purpose of this book. Only when the time is ripe.

Wounded

Everything that is done leaves its mark on us. Sometimes its rewarding, sometimes deadly. Reminders of our actions in case we come to forget. Stress and anxiety are the handlers of the remembering of the past, which can be useful yet painful. The first chapter of this novel introduces us to the main character, not in name but in how his current daily life is like. He intends to describe what happened in the bombing of Dresden in an anti-war novel, but finds himself caught up in a situation where he doesn't know how or where to begin. He doesn't even remember what it was that he felt during the war. As far as reminiscing with Bernard V. O’Hare goes, all they were able to retrieve from the fading memories were insignificant details of their days in the war. Together they attempt to recapture the full meaning of what happened in Dresden, but most efforts were in vain. The facts were there, hidden and kept secret by the Air Force, and so were the emotions, but instead these were hidden from them by sympathetic memory. The visit ends, and it surprises me, for I thought it would be of great importance. It is not, it is just a way of explaining how the past was blurry to them and how difficult it would be to finish such a book. Billy Pilgrim is a man undecided on what author or idea to believe when it came to time and war. Miss Ostrovsky is obsessed with time and believes things such as "truth is death", while Theodore Roethke simply looks forward without knowing what is coming. The Gildeon Bible provides Billy with tales of destruction and human flaws, such as that of Lot's wife. Inspired by this he decides that "people aren't supposed to look back"and so as soon as he finishes the book, he vows that he will never again do so. He does not believe his novel to be great, for like Seymour told him: "there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre". 

Like Being Kicked Out of Paradise

We have a purpose to fulfill in life. We are expected to exceed expectations, the standards and judgments of all those that surround us, regardless of who or what they are to us. We pride ourselves with having the knowledge of being superior to someone else. We compare everything and anything, so that we have an opportunity to hold our heads high and try to impress the audience. Humans are the "wisest of the animals" yet we are perhaps the most flawed of all. We are selfish and what is worse, we know it yet refuse to acknowledge it. Mistakes are inevitable, but then again so is hiding and covering them up. Being young in a way  means being clueless, careless and free from the burden maturity brings. The increase of responsibility scares the young, and although we may be praised by our so called accomplishments, we learn the hard way about our own insignificance. "The Perfect Life" exists in the minds of all those foolish enough to believe that such a thing exists. Perfection is a state of mind. It is up to each individual, and John Koethe tells us that most of these foolish believers are the young. How can that be so? Aren't the young the future? In that case I find it safe to say that we are well on our way to nowhere.

Ego is our most loyal follower. It is like a shadow on a sunny day, and what we wouldn't give to ensure it stays there. Perhaps this is why rain depresses us, why clouds bring sadness "into our hearts". I find this is the reason we are so indecisive about our feelings towards time. We plan and can't wait to grow up and get a chance to achieve our goals, but when we really think about it we discover that time can be our ruin. It can and probably will take away all that is precious to us: our youth. We run, scream, laugh and cry in a way that no one else can because of body and mind limitations. To us the world is full of colors, but as we grow, we find more and more gray and black corners. Responsibility catches up with us, because with time, we begin to grow tired of running from it. "What I take for granted bears a name", right now this may mean something a little less than important, but as we advance and draw ever nearer to our fate, we notice it has started to come alive. What once was ceases to exist, all because who we were when young, will never again come back to life. Our youth is dead, and so is our once "Perfect Life".