Chapter 10

Chapter 10 is the last chapter of the book, and there is still no real sense of beginning or end to the story. The plot line of the story was never in chronological order, and this made it very hard to follow. Although Vonnegut seemed to show that he believed war was awful and destructive, he also gave insight to looking beyond the hard times and to accepting that awful things happen and thats life. I personally found the book very enjoyable and got a lot out of Vonnegut's humorous and unique style of writing.

Rhetorical Question

In chapter 10, Vonnegut ends the book with repetition of the same rhetorical question he asked previously. He states: "Birds were talking. One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, 'Poo-tee-weet?'" (275). This question is significant to the story because it explains Vonnegut's theme (stated in the first chapter) that there isn't anything intelligent to say about a massacre. The birds question is meaningless, but Vonnegut believes that anything else said would be just as meaningless.

Chapter 9

In chapter 9, the car crash that Valencia gets into reminds me of when me and my friend got in a car crash. The situations are similar because we both got hit from behind. Although Valencia's crash was way more severe, the after effects are similar because the crash leaves you feeling stunned and confused.
Also, an important point brought up in this chapter is that the conception of history is shaped by those who write about it. Vonnegut seems to dislike this. We are often sheltered from the truth and instead of hearing about the true and horrible accounts that took place we get a sugar coated version that is not what really happened.

Irony

In chapter 9, Vonnegut displays many examples of irony. When Billy is taking a nap and sunning himself in the "coffin-shaped green wagon," (248), the author states that "if this sort of selectivity had been possible for Billy, he might have chosen as his happiest moment his sun drenched snooze in the back of the wagon," (249). This statement is ironic because, first of all, because Billy's happiest moment is after the city of Dresden had suffered a terrible bombing, a ton of lives were lost, and he was in a "coffin-shaped" wagon. All of these things are negative and death related, yet Billy is perfectly content. Secondly, his happiest moment is ironic because shortly after he sheds his first tears throughout  the whole war when he notices the awful condition that the horses pulling the wagon are in. Billy's dramatic and severe change in emotions show that he is traumatized and unstable.

Chapter 8

The bombing in Dresden can be connected to a bad tornado. When people heard that the bombing was about to happen, they all went to the safest parts of their home that they knew of and hid just like we do if there is a tornado. When the Americans came out after the bombing, everything was destroyed and looked completely different than it had before. Although the bombings caused way more significant damage than most tornados, the concept is similar in that the appearance of the city people were used to had been changed drastically in a matter of hours.

Theme

In chapter 8, one of Vonnegut's themes through out the book is very prevalent. In this chapter, Billy is down in the meat locker while Dresden is being bombed. The author states: "When the Americans and their guards did come out, the sky was black with smoke. The sun was an angry little pinhead. Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals. The stones were hot. Everybody else in the neighborhood was dead," (227). This quote emphasized the destruction of war. The theme is that war is  awful and insane and that all it does is destroy. The war destroyed many lives and towns and had an awful after effect.

Chapter 7

In chapter 7, the plane crash that Billy suffers through can be connected to the shooting in Colorado because both were tragic disasters. Like the shooting, many lives were lost and both situations were an awful surprise to the people involved. Everyone in the plane and at the shooting was caught off guard and the survivors off both have to suffer from the horrid memory from the events.

Conflict

A major conflict in chapter 7 is that the plane that Billy is on crashes "into the top of the Sugarbush Mountain in Vermont... [and] everyone was killed but Billy and the copilot," (199). This is significant to the story because the crash provides the reader with another reason for why Billy might be half crazy. Also, for such a tragic event, the author does not seem to make any dramatic comments. In fact, Vonnegut states that "everything was pretty much all right with Billy," (200). This is ironic because one, Billy had just been apart of a major accident and was fatally injured, and two, Billy's mind is all over the place and he is far from all right.

Chapter 6

In chapter 6, an Englishman gave a lecture on survival. The man said that he saw many people die from ceasing "to stand up straight... shave or wash... get out of bed... [and] talk," (185). I think that within this lecture Vonnegut is making a side point that giving up is never an option in war and that, no matter what, the Americans must go on. This reminds me of the song "Never Give Up," by Yolanda Adams, because they both share a theme of staying strong and doing what you have to do even when times are rough.

Tone

In chapter 6, the narrator's tone shifts slightly when referring to Billy's experience in 1976. The narrator seems to become more distant when talking about Billy's death. The tone of this portion of the chapter is calm and understanding. Also, instead of telling the events of this part of the story in his own words, the author quotes a tape to make it clean that it is Billy. The tape says "I, Billy... will die, have died, and always will... 1967," (180). The point of this distance could be to distinguish Billy as a separate character than the author.

Chapter 5

Although chapter five was a long chapter, the story line didn't seem to progress much. Vonnegut is sending many different messages, but none seem to be related or connected to each other in any way. So far, the book lacks major suspense or points. I still feel like Vonnegut is being distant and that the main character, Billy, isn't getting much out of all of his insane experiences.

Characterization

In chapter 5, Vonnegut introduces Billy's wife Valencia Merble. The author says "Valencia was... rich... as big as a house... and the frames [of her glasses] were trimmed with rhinestones," (136). Within this paragraph, Vonnegut uses characterization to reveal that Valencia values money and food. Also, he makes her personality appear to be somewhat annoying. Valenica seems to have very insignificant value to her husband Billy and remains a weak character throughout the chapter.

Chapter 4

In chapter 4 I started to realize that every time Vonnegut describes or tells about a tragic event, specifically resulting in the death of something or someone, he ends the paragraph with "so it goes." The fact that Vonnegut uses this saying so often after tragic events makes me feel like he is now numb to the horrors of death and injury because he has experienced so many awful and crazy things in his life. Vonnegut seems to have a passive, go with the flow personality that shows more and more through out the book.

Imagery

In chapter 4, Vonnegut uses sensory language to evoke the picture of the Tralfamadore hover craft. He states "the saucer was one hundred feet... portholes was a pulsing purple," (96). The descriptions of the saucer are very precise and create a concrete image. Vonnegut uses imagery a lot through out the book and it makes the reader feel like they are actually in the story.

Chapter 3

In this chapter, Vonnegut goes into more detail about the main character, Billy, who seems to be deeply traumatized by the war. Billy has several problems such as his unexplainable weeping, hallucinating, falling asleep while examining patients, and then needing his "Magic Fingers Vibrator" to help him get to sleep at night. The author calmly presents this character as crazy and by describing what is going on in Billy's mind, Vonnegut creates an indistinguishable line between fact and fiction. Billy resembles many people who have seen the horrors of war and then suffer from post-tramatic stress disorder.

Indirect Characterization

In chapter 3, Vonnegut uses indirect characterization to describe many characters. For example, I got a good idea of what kind of man the corporal was by Vonnegut's descriptions of the corporal capturing Billy and Weary. When Vonnegut says "he tore open Weary's overcoat and blouse... reached into Weary's gaping bosom as though he meant to tear out his pounding heart" (69), I got the sense that the corporal was a very hostile and strict man who was rarely happy.

Chapter 2

In chapter two, Vonnegut jumps right into the story by sharing depressing, dramatic, and tragic situations that involve death and injuries. The unique aspect of Vonnegut's writing is that although he is talking about insane and unimaginable events, he remains to write casually and makes you feel like he is talking in a monotone voice. The fact that Vonnegut so often says things like "so it goes" and "and so on" makes me think he is a man who has seen a lot and knows many stories.  Not only is Vonnegut telling of sad stories, he also makes many hysterical remarks in chapter two. For example, when he discusses Billy being drunk and him hallucinating Vonnegut's funny side is seeping through. This chapter reminded me of the movie "Back to the Future" because of all the "time traveling" back and forth that Billy did. The book is somewhat hard to follow because of this aspect. 

Antihero

In chapter two, Vonnegut introduces the main character Billy Pilgrim. Billy is a dazed and confused man moving through the motions in life. This character appears to be an anti-hero in many ways. Billy suffered many tragedies in life such as being a prisoner of war, a plane crash, and tragic deaths of family members. Billy was drafted into the second World War and became a chaplain's assistant. Billy basically didn't do much during the war and could be considered unhelpful to the other Americans. At one point in the book, Vonnegut refers to Billy as a "damn college kid, who was so weak he shouldn't even have been in the army" (55). Since Billy doesn't accomplish much and is presented as pitiful and crazy, he could be referred to as the antihero of the book.

Chapter 1

In the first chapter, Vonnegut has established that his book will be anti-war. He also notes that a world without war is very unlikely. Vonnegut seems to be pessimistic in a humorous way. I think he is intriguing but weird, and for some reason he reminds me of Albert Einstein. In this chapter Vonnegut describes himself as a typical old guy (bad memory, "old fart," "so it goes," etc.) and his opinions are comical. After reading the first chapter, I think the book will be interesting, funny, and sad all at the same time.

Point of View

The first chapter of "Slaughterhouse -five" by Kurt Vonnegut is in first person point of view. In this chapter, Vonnegut says: "I have told my sons... the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee," (24). This is an example of Vonnegut sharing personal details about his life with the reader. In this chapter, Vonnegut elaborates on his opinions on the book (Slaughterhouse-five) as well as his opinions on other random things. Vonnegut's writing is unique and down to earth. He often portrays himself as an "old-fart"and makes his dry-humor very distinguishable.