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.