Monday, April 30, 2012

Slaughterhouse five 6

"Whenever the doorbell rings, have somebody else answer the door." pg 141

What an awful way to live. Knowing that one day you will be killed, but being paranoid until it actually happens. On second thought, that's how a lot of people live, even if they haven't been directly threatened, especially war veterans. The men who have served for our country will always remember what seeing death was like, and a small part of them will always worry that death is knocking at their door. Vonnegut uses Lazzaro's direct approach to remind the reader that for the soldiers in the slaughterhouse, the war won't be over when they leave Dresden. As we read through Billy's life, much of the tumult occurs after they have come home.  Sure, most don't have to worry about murderers stalking their every move, but they don't know that. To some veterans it's as if the war never ended even though they're back home living a seemingly normal life. Such men, like Billy Pilgrim in a way, never left the war at all. That's a terrible way to live.

1 comment:

  1. What i think is slightly ironic is that Billy knew things about his life and never did anything to change it. Like on the plane, he didn't want to look like a fool so he let everyone get hurt. This is strange that he never wanted to change his life story or prevent things from happening, like his death threat.

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