Immortal Memories in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five
Death. “[W]hen a person dies [,] he only appears to die” (Vonnegut 33-34). Death does not mean a moment is lost forever. In Slaughterhouse-five, Kurt Vonnegut tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, a character that experiences war and travels through time . Vonnegut conveys the impermanence of death by using imagery, a motif and creating a nonlinear plot.
In this novel, Vonnegut uses a great amount of visual imagery to display the true temporary darkness behind death. The author explains Billy’s experiences when he becomes stuck in time. For example, when Billy is taken to Tralfamadore, a Tralfamadorian tells him, “[t]ake it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said …show more content…
Billy claims that “[w]hen a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment” (Vonnegut 34). This made him change his mind about the topic of death. So, when there is a death of an individual Billy “simply shrugs and says” (Vonnegut 34) the phrase “so it goes”. Vonnegut frequently repeats this phrase throughout the novel to depict the idea of acceptance and moving on. An example is when Vonnegut says, “[p]eople were dying there. So it goes” (Vonnegut 83). The motif helps explain that even though people died, the moment continues to go on. Generally, when someone dies, people tend to go through some kind of emotional and/or physical decline. On the other hand, Vonnegut uses the motif to exhibit the concept of overcoming hardships and pushing through. Furthermore, Vonnegut not only talks about the death of a person, he means to speak about death in general. For instance, “[b]ody lice and bacteria and fleas were dying by the billions. So it goes” (Vonnegut 107). Here, Vonnegut points out that death is just an ordinary occasion that passes …show more content…
The reader is constantly moving back and forth throughout many moments of Billy’s life. Vonnegut narrates the experiences that Billy lives and even talks about his death in a non-chronological order. Billy was in an airplane crash after the war has ended and this particular incident is mentioned a few times throughout the novel. Billy constantly travels travels through time and relives the plane crash a couple of times. In addition, he also goes back to relieve his birth. Vonnegut describes the birth of Billy, “which was [a] red light and bubbling sounds” (Vonnegut 55). The reader is also transported to Billy’s death often. Vonnegut says “Billy experiences death for a while. It is simply violet light and a hum” (Vonnegut 182). Since Billy becomes stuck and travels through time, he relives his time in Tralfamadore as well, like when “he traveled to 1967 again-to the night he was kidnapped by a flying saucer” (Vonnegut 90). According to Loeb from Umea University, structurally, a narrative split into several time levels forms exactly what the author calls his “telegraphic schizophrenic” style. Vonnegut used this technique to support how Billy relives many moments over and over. Consequently, this proves memories and experiences live forever. Vonnegut makes death rather insignificant when he narrates Billy’s particular life
Death. “[W]hen a person dies [,] he only appears to die” (Vonnegut 33-34). Death does not mean a moment is lost forever. In Slaughterhouse-five, Kurt Vonnegut tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, a character that experiences war and travels through time . Vonnegut conveys the impermanence of death by using imagery, a motif and creating a nonlinear plot.
In this novel, Vonnegut uses a great amount of visual imagery to display the true temporary darkness behind death. The author explains Billy’s experiences when he becomes stuck in time. For example, when Billy is taken to Tralfamadore, a Tralfamadorian tells him, “[t]ake it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said …show more content…
Billy claims that “[w]hen a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment” (Vonnegut 34). This made him change his mind about the topic of death. So, when there is a death of an individual Billy “simply shrugs and says” (Vonnegut 34) the phrase “so it goes”. Vonnegut frequently repeats this phrase throughout the novel to depict the idea of acceptance and moving on. An example is when Vonnegut says, “[p]eople were dying there. So it goes” (Vonnegut 83). The motif helps explain that even though people died, the moment continues to go on. Generally, when someone dies, people tend to go through some kind of emotional and/or physical decline. On the other hand, Vonnegut uses the motif to exhibit the concept of overcoming hardships and pushing through. Furthermore, Vonnegut not only talks about the death of a person, he means to speak about death in general. For instance, “[b]ody lice and bacteria and fleas were dying by the billions. So it goes” (Vonnegut 107). Here, Vonnegut points out that death is just an ordinary occasion that passes …show more content…
The reader is constantly moving back and forth throughout many moments of Billy’s life. Vonnegut narrates the experiences that Billy lives and even talks about his death in a non-chronological order. Billy was in an airplane crash after the war has ended and this particular incident is mentioned a few times throughout the novel. Billy constantly travels travels through time and relives the plane crash a couple of times. In addition, he also goes back to relieve his birth. Vonnegut describes the birth of Billy, “which was [a] red light and bubbling sounds” (Vonnegut 55). The reader is also transported to Billy’s death often. Vonnegut says “Billy experiences death for a while. It is simply violet light and a hum” (Vonnegut 182). Since Billy becomes stuck and travels through time, he relives his time in Tralfamadore as well, like when “he traveled to 1967 again-to the night he was kidnapped by a flying saucer” (Vonnegut 90). According to Loeb from Umea University, structurally, a narrative split into several time levels forms exactly what the author calls his “telegraphic schizophrenic” style. Vonnegut used this technique to support how Billy relives many moments over and over. Consequently, this proves memories and experiences live forever. Vonnegut makes death rather insignificant when he narrates Billy’s particular life