The narrator comments on the relationship between Billy and his son: “Billy liked him, but didn’t know him very well. Billy couldn’t suspect that there wasn’t much to know about Robert” (176). Billy’s detachment from his wife and his own son shows how severely the war has affected his ability to have intimate relationships. Like Billy, those suffering with PTSD “may feel distant from others and feel numb” and have “less interest in social or sexual activities” according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After recognizing how Billy has isolated himself from his son, he begins to realize the potential of human relationships that he has abandoned for most of his life due to the war. Vonnegut creates Billy to be very detached from his
