Almost immediately in the first and second chapter we noticed that the timeline of Slaughter House Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, is very jumbled up. While the narrator, Yon Yonson, is telling the story of Billy Pilgrim, the stories told come in a very unorganized manner. On one page Billy could be hiding from German soldiers, but on the next page he could be back in college. Most of the stories Billy jumps around to connect back to the Tralfamadorians' way of life, or the concept of time travel.
I think that during and after the war "Billy" made up the idea of these Tralfamadorians to cope with what he witnessed in Dresden. Do you think that Billy will explain more about how he thought of these Tralfamadorians and why? Do you think that Billy came up with these creatures for the same reason I do?
Sam- In the story Billy really does believe that he was captured by these Tralfamadorians and that they are real. So I think that we might not here about why he "came up with them" but maybe Yon Yonson will voice his opinion on that. Looking at in in a realistic sort of way, I do agree with you that the reason he may believe all of the things about the Tralfamadorians is to cope with his experiences in Dresden. Maybe the way Billy remembers his life and the way its being played out (traveling through time to random years of his life) is the only way he can remember it. The firebombing of Dresden could have really messed him up mentally.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Kayla on Billy not exactly making up the Tralfamadorians, more as discovering them when he was abducted. I do believe he (Billy) will continue to expand on the Tralfamadorians, both directly and indirectly. At the same time, it is very possible that Billy uses this discovery as a way to remember the war (and in some cases not remember) and cope with what he had witnessed in Dresden.
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