1986

Time is incorporated throughout the novel. Billy Pilgrim is going back and forth in time. This structure allows Slaughterhouse Five to be very different than other novels.  Billy Pilgrim experiences time travel from when a flying saucer from Tralfamadore arrives in his backyard and from that day forward Billy becomes unstuck in time. The novel is unique in the sense that it is not in chronological order. Vonnegut introduces each event as he sees it. Writers often present situations in an extreme nature to really bring out the meaning they are trying to convey in their novels.  This is apparent in Vonnegut’s writing in Slaughterhouse Five. He presents the reader a story in which the main character goes throughout the book without being affected by natural means.

Vonnegut sets Slaughterhouse Five in a random time line allowing the novel to be very different than others and play a key role in how the story unfolds. Presenting the events in such a formant keeps the reader on the edge of their seat the whole time, wanting to know what is going to happen next. The irony of the story is that Billy knows what is going to happen the whole time, but he is just going through random events in his life without any control on going back and forth in time.

The way that Vonnegut sets up this novel is effective in the sense that you truly get to experience what is going on. Many writers would not dare try and write a book with such structure; however Vonnegut did an amazing job taking you through Billy’s life.

Book 2 Media

         Slaughterhouse Five was made into a movie and released in 1972. Directed by George Hill, starring Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman and Eugene Roche. The movie is a great replica of the movie. It follows the same storyline and the details are closely matched.

"If you look deeply enough, you'll see Adam and Eve"

     

       This book is all about time shifting and when Weary and Billy are captured by the German soliders they see Adam and Eve on the side of one of their boots. This is symbolizing the beginning of the human race. Again, I believe this also symbolizes hope going back to the framed prayer.

"There is more to life than you can read in books"

        This quote by Weary is undoubtfully true. There are many life lessons that one will learn by actually experiencing the situation. People can tell you something over and over again or you can read it, but that doesn't always get through to everyone.

"If I hadn't spent so much time studying Earthlings"

      

       The aliens totally lack the understanding of free will, but are trying to understand it through humans. Billy is trying to help the aliens understand the behavior that they are witnessing but the aliens think the humans are bizarre creatures. When I think about this is makes me laugh that aliens think that humans are the bizarre ones; however when humans think about aliens we think of them as bizarre.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference"

     

        The prayer on the wall shows that Billy has hope to keep going. The book also tells us that the framed prayer has also given his patients the hope to keep going on. Believing in something better than what your situation is at the time is enough to help someone take the next step. Someone believing in you gives you this security that nothing else can give you and I truly believe that is what the prayer gave Billy and others who encountered it.

"Billy could almost smell his breath-mustard gas and roses"

     

         Vonnegut is smelling the mustard gas which symbolizes poisoning; however he also smells the roses which is symbolizing romance. Both of these elements are key way to see how the war is directly affecting Vonnegut's everyday life. He is on the telephone and yet he feels as if he is able to smell these smells through it. In reality this is a very sad but serious problem that the war does to people. Even know a days when people come home from battle they are not the same and they replay what they went through.