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".