Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut begins with our narrator (the author) trying to recollect his memories during the years of World War 2 as a POW in a meat/ slaughterhouse in Dresden, Germany. And seeing that this must have happened after the war the time span for Vonnegut must have been about 24 years as the war ended in 1945 with book the being published approximately in the year 1969. As he further elaborates his plan on how he would converse with his veteran friend O’Hare, he mentions of his “disease” and it’s symptoms which includes him calling “friends” late at night with an elegance/ grave tone having his “breath of mustard gas and roses”. The paradox as well as strong symbolism and imagery allows the reader to picture exactly how he was calling his mysterious friends, in a sweet and mellow tone but with a hint of toxicity like profanity at night (while being drunk). He states that he speaks “gravely and elegantly into the telephone”, the quote signals paradox which shows and allows the reader to picture the drastic change in his (drunk) tone while speaking to the operators/ “friends”. Vonnegut’s use of diction and symbolism creates a vivid picture as he uses “mustard gas” and “roses” to describe his breath.
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And using the matching descriptive hints such as the “random calling at night with a breath of mustard gas and roses while drunk” from the passage here and the one in page 4, does that mean that Vonnegut was Billy’s daughter’s ex
And using the matching descriptive hints such as the “random calling at night with a breath of mustard gas and roses while drunk” from the passage here and the one in page 4, does that mean that Vonnegut was Billy’s daughter’s ex