Early on in Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim tells his wife, Valencia, “‘It would sound like a dream’” (121) to tell her about his experiences in the war. Shortly thereafter, he becomes unstuck in time again, traveling back to his horrific life as a soldier in World War II. Making the connection between a novel with a theme of insanity to an Edgar Allan Poe poem seemed only natural. Poe, like Kurt Vonnegut, is a master of developing the topic in an ironic, dark manner, as seen in his short-story
Vonnegut really emphasizes the destruction of war throughout the whole book; it seems to be the central theme. In the first chapter, Vonnegut discusses the process of writing Slaughterhouse-Five, and how he really wanted to inform the readers of the Dresden War. There are many settings in this book, including Dresden, where the bombing would occur and kill thousands of innocent people. We also get to see the main character, Billy Pilgrim change throughout the war from trauma. The promise Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, is a classic American anti-war novel. The story takes place during World War II and is told non-linearly through the flashbacks of a chaplain’s assistant. This feckless, pathetic, funny-looking character is named Billy Pilgrim. Billy has no desire to live, yet people keep saving him anyway. He even survives the Dresden Fire Bombing, which serves as the climax of the book. Through experiencing everyone’s death but his own, Billy Pilgrim has a Tralfamadorian ideology
Vonnegut suggests in Slaughterhouse-Five that death is nothing to fear or grieve upon. Vonnegut’s message is presented by the main character, Billy Pilgrim. Billy’s story is told in the third person, flashing back and forth through time in his convoluted, nonlinear life experiences. Just after his daughter’s wedding, Billy is abducted by Tralfamadores and brought to their home planet. These Tralfamadores are able to see in the fourth dimension, and they are also able to see past, present, and future