Symbolism In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five

Kurt Vonnegut, in his novel, “Slaughterhouse Five” recounts his experiences of World War II through Billy Pilgrim, the main character. Vonnegut’s purpose is to describe his wartime experiences and antiwar view. He adopts a complex and elusive tone in order to successfully engage and entertain his readers. Vonnegut begins his novel in the first person. We are given a first-person point of view in the sections embedded in the first and last chapters of the book. Throughout the rest of Vonnegut’s novel, he periodically pops up during Billy’s travels through Germany as a prisoner of war. Vonnegut somewhat compares Billy’s story to his own by describing the past events he had witnessed first-hand through Billy’s eyes. You see, Vonnegut was born in 1922 and “Billy was born in 1922” too. (23) This omniscient point of view gives the reader information like what is happening both on Earth and on Tralfamadore at any given time and we readers gain a broader perspective of time because we are given information on things the characters themselves don’t know. When it comes to style, Vonnegut writes in a sporadic form. His choice of form …show more content…
Vonnegut uses two types of symbolism in this specific novel including christ symbolism along with his use of regular symbolism. Like Jesus, Billy “predicted” his death. “As a time-traveler, [Billy] has seen his own death many times[.]”(141) He knew he “will die, have died, and always will die on February thirteenth, 1976.” (141) In relation to the Bible, Jesus predicted his death. “He then began to teach them that[…]he must be killed and after three days rise again.” (Bible, Mark 8:31) Vonnegut compares Billy and Jesus in many cases. Jesus was a man who traveled between heaven and earth just as Billy traveled between Tralfamadore and earth, he is even considered powerless and does not try to stop the fate that he knows comes for