Is Billy insane or sane? While to some he may seem completely out of his mind. A strange character that happens to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Others may see him as a man that knows about the cruelty of reality. One that has experienced the complexity of war, been torn apart by his inner morality and is trying to use his imagination, by making up his own race of Tralfmadorians, as an escape route from the world and judgement. However can Billy really escape from being classified as insane? Either way he will be an outcast as he’s the only one that has experienced war, which affects the way the society looks and judges him. If he expresses extreme emotion, he’s considered unstable. If he portrays himself as ‘normal’, we point
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Time travelling is also used to foreshadow the traumatic experiences that haunt Billy every now and then. Through the different uses of form and diction, Vonnegut allows his readers to explore on the fractured memory, psyche and identity of Billy Pilgrim, both physically and emotionally, hoping it will give an impact on readers, that we can’t believe everything we perceive, as some of the most unbearable parts are the truth.
Vonnegut uses metafictional framing by giving readers personal information about Billy Pilgrim. ‘His father-in-law, who owned the Ilium School of Optometry, who had set Billy up in practise, was a genius in his field’ (P.48) From this, we can see Billy was once a successful optometrist. When thinking about words ‘optometry’ and ‘optometrist’, we first associate it with people who are professionals in the field of eye healthcare, ones that provide us with the correct lenses to see properly. As optometrists set the standard for clarity of vision, it suggests Billy’s role in the novel is to correct our visions and opinions …show more content…
He describes how ‘they didn’t smell bad at first, were wax museums. But then the bodies rotted and liquefied, and the stink was like roses and mustard gas.’ (P.214) The image being illustrated is not only graphic and gory, but mines are genuinely deep down in the ground, which needs digging to find its diamond and treasures. In this context, the book itself can be a mine, where feelings and experiences are so repressed, it requires deep drilling to reveal it. Wax figures in museums on the other hand, are usually for show, replicating a real object. It can also be preserved for a long time. This could reflect Billy’s inner feelings towards war, how he fakes it and hides them. He could have been repeating ‘So it goes’ throughout the story for show and self reassurance. ‘Bodies’ in this passage might metaphorically mean memories. When ‘bodies rotted and liquefied’, memories ‘liquefy’ and become unstable, without structure, resulting in fragmentation. The passage continues with Billy ‘being ordered to go down and work.’ and ‘He tore himself to pieces, throwing up and throwing up’ (P.214) The act of ‘going down to work’ shows the pain of revisiting war memories, and the fact that Billy kept throwing up, symbolises his desperation to get these feelings out of his system as it was tearing him apart emotionally. The
Time travelling is also used to foreshadow the traumatic experiences that haunt Billy every now and then. Through the different uses of form and diction, Vonnegut allows his readers to explore on the fractured memory, psyche and identity of Billy Pilgrim, both physically and emotionally, hoping it will give an impact on readers, that we can’t believe everything we perceive, as some of the most unbearable parts are the truth.
Vonnegut uses metafictional framing by giving readers personal information about Billy Pilgrim. ‘His father-in-law, who owned the Ilium School of Optometry, who had set Billy up in practise, was a genius in his field’ (P.48) From this, we can see Billy was once a successful optometrist. When thinking about words ‘optometry’ and ‘optometrist’, we first associate it with people who are professionals in the field of eye healthcare, ones that provide us with the correct lenses to see properly. As optometrists set the standard for clarity of vision, it suggests Billy’s role in the novel is to correct our visions and opinions …show more content…
He describes how ‘they didn’t smell bad at first, were wax museums. But then the bodies rotted and liquefied, and the stink was like roses and mustard gas.’ (P.214) The image being illustrated is not only graphic and gory, but mines are genuinely deep down in the ground, which needs digging to find its diamond and treasures. In this context, the book itself can be a mine, where feelings and experiences are so repressed, it requires deep drilling to reveal it. Wax figures in museums on the other hand, are usually for show, replicating a real object. It can also be preserved for a long time. This could reflect Billy’s inner feelings towards war, how he fakes it and hides them. He could have been repeating ‘So it goes’ throughout the story for show and self reassurance. ‘Bodies’ in this passage might metaphorically mean memories. When ‘bodies rotted and liquefied’, memories ‘liquefy’ and become unstable, without structure, resulting in fragmentation. The passage continues with Billy ‘being ordered to go down and work.’ and ‘He tore himself to pieces, throwing up and throwing up’ (P.214) The act of ‘going down to work’ shows the pain of revisiting war memories, and the fact that Billy kept throwing up, symbolises his desperation to get these feelings out of his system as it was tearing him apart emotionally. The