Billy Pilgrim

Billy had the uncontrollable ability to jump through time, which is another Element of Postmodernism. The Time Element of Postmodernism is explaining how “time moves, usually differently or in a strange way.” Billy Pilgrim travels through time throughout Slaughterhouse Five, all the way from World War II, his childhood, and the future. Just to experience events…

individual; one whose life has been altered from reality. Billy Pilgrim, the main character of Slaughterhouse Five, disconnects from reality from the destruction of war. On the other hand, Charles Watkins, the main character of Briefing for A Descent into Hell, becomes disconnected from reality due to a mental breakdown. These novels deal with the works of the inner mind and the events that shape the way one thinks about life. Billy Pilgrims mind jumps around to different time periods due to his…

and terrific events that happen during a war. Vonnegut leaves the reader with the idea that war is not necessary. On the last line of the book, Pilgrim is outdoors when…

Kurt Vonnegut is able to tie together the idea that fate is predetermined with the ideas that life is meaningless, by pointing out that the actions people take in life are inconsequential. Billy Pilgrim sees this in his everyday life, as he travels through time, showing him that all the events in his life are already set, and therefore there is nothing he can do to change what will happen to him. This has its effects on his emotion as he is very distant from his own life, as he sees the events…

were performed on him. Tralfamadorian ideas are only apparent to Pilgrim during the story, because only he can become “stuck” and “unstuck” in time, meaning that he experiences different parts of his life at any given moment. At this point in the book, the transitions between past, present, future, and Tralfamadore become slightly muddled, making it easy to lose track of what is occurring in the story at that time. As Billy Pilgrim becomes “stuck” and “unstuck” in time, the story continues to…

I. SUBJECT Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five is a cheerless tale of young Billy Pilgrim’s crusade through World War Two. Billy Pilgrim was an ordinary youth who went on to optometry school and was drafted into the United States Army. However, his life is turned upside down when he is captured by German soldiers during the war and he experiences his first journey through time. Years later, Billy claims to be abducted by the alien creatures from the distant planet of Tralfamadore. They reveal to…

life-threatening situations such as military combat, serious accidents, etc. Unfortunately, not just the people that are diagnosed with this disorder are affected by their past. In the novel, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, a man by the name of Billy Pilgrim, a World War Two veteran, suffered through life, claiming time travel because of his inability to control his flashbacks that were triggered by the smallest of every-day events. For example, he would be at his desk at the optometry…

through the portrayal of Billy Pilgrim’s life before, during, and after World War II. Billy Pilgrim supposedly time travels and goes to another planet after his time in the war, but I believe that Billy has post-traumatic stress disorder, and that is what causes his time travel and alien visits. Slaughterhouse Five is written to show Billy Pilgrim travel through time to many different moments throughout his life ranging from his time in optometry school to his supposed death. Billy goes to…

and the way people act in war. He creates the characters Billy Pilgrim and Roland Weary to show the extreme personalities on can meet in war. He also uses the character Edgar Derby to show how the warriors most fit to be in war are not always destined for glory. Vonnegut uses satire to promote his anti-war message, and warn people about the effects war can have on a person. The first time Vonnegut uses satire repeatedly is to describe Billy Pilgrim’s appearance. He is always clothed in…

and ally- and to expose the cruelty of war. Billy Pilgrim, the weak and pitiful protagonist, becomes the prime example of an affected person from war who needs compassion and understanding.…