Symbolism

I know that often when we think of symbols, especially in literature, we think of inanimate objects.  However, we sometimes forget that authors also like to use humans as symbols in their stories to say something important or to merely comment about an aspect of life.  In this chapter, Vonnegut uses the cook as a symbol to represent those who negate the sacrifices the soldiers make.  She says to them that "All the real soldiers are dead" in response to seeing their dreadful condition.  many people think that only strong, physical men are the ones that can survive the war (such as Ronald Weary who actually ends up dieing in the fourth chapter).  It is easy for people like the cook to forget how valuable a small man like Billy can actually be in the war and they forget that these soldiers are making sacrifices themselves such as being away from their home and families. That is something that should never be overlooked.

Chapter 6

                               
One thing that I really noticed in this chapter was the two lumps at the beginning.  Billy is very intrigued by them and questions what they are.  However he is told not to question their identity, and if he does that, then they will perform miracles for him.  Most people nowadays will simply accept that request because even if they do not know what these mysterious items are, they know that they will be performing miracles for them, which is all that matters.  This mentality is how dictators come to power.  They rise from a nation that is falling apart.  No one is really sure who they are, but this mysterious figure can give riveting speeches and promises to turn the country around, as long as the people will trust him with the power.  These people who are in desperation turn to this man who they do not fully understand, yet they trust him to fix all their problems. It is the same way that Hitler rose to power, which leads me to think that Vonnegut meant for the objects to be seen that way.

Diction

In Slaughterhouse-Five, there are several characters who posses many grisly and flat-out messed up thoughts. They are very gruesome and often fantasize about murder and destruction.  Ronald Weary from the earlier chapters, for example, demonstrated a man who, one could tell, has a desire for violence.  We start to see these traits develop in Lazzaro as well.  We see it in his dialogue as Vonnegut writes, "Now Lazzaro's eyes twinkled. 'Blood started coming out of his mouth.  He started crying, and he rolled on the ground, as though the knives were on the outside of him instead of on the inside of him.  Then he tried to bite out his own insides.  I laughed, and I said to him you got the right idea now.  Tear your own guts out, boy.  That's me in there with all those knives.'" (139)  The strong, violent image of flat out torture of his own dog is unsettling to the reader, but it gives us a good idea of the kind of person Lazzaro truly is.

Chapter 5

                                 
 At this point in the story, we now see the relevance of the Tralfamadorians within it.  When I first read about how a science fiction plot would be weaved within an anti-war novel about WWII, I thought that it would have no bearing on any underlying meaning of the story.  However, the aliens give the reader a different perspective of the mentality of the Nazis.  When the American get pushed by the German officer and asks him "Why me?" to which the officer replies "Vy you? Vy anybody?", we see how Vonnegut parrallels the Nazi's with the aliens.  The Nazis pretend that their unspeakable actions of  violence and disgraceful warcrimes are all simply a natural part of the order of events.  They act as if they have no choice in the choices they commit, so they use it as an excuse to defend what they are doing.  Still, no matter who you are, you are always given a choice.  And no one in the universe, not even the Lord Himself can decide or even alter that decision for you.

Irony

Chapter 5 heavily explores the issue of free will.  As Billy spends more time with the Tralfamadorians, he starts to understand their concept on free will and appreciates their theory.  They think that no matter what you do, you can not stop the natural order of things, and that basically, everyone in the world is playing in a massive play that is out of their control.  What is ironic is it is Billy's desire to share with the world his belief that we have no choice over our actions.  It is his own free will that drives him to teach the world his theory about how we cannot do what we want in the world.

Chapter 4

What surprised me most in chapter 3 was the death of Ronald Weary.  I know that him and Billy Pilgrim barely got along with each other, but I still felt that they had some sort of odd connection that was going to develop into a strong relationship between the two.  However, Weary passes away relatively soon in the story which was an end to that theory.  It shows how sometimes we  feel as if we are friends with someone, and because of that, nothing could ever happen to them.  This however is false.  Whatever happens is what happens, and sometimes some people are just simply subject fate.

Repetition

Throughout the novel, Vonnegut is very apathetic about death.  Many people throughout the story die (which is expected), yet he does not show any emotion or reverence towards their demise. He also simply says "so it goes" after he reports a death in the story.  Even after the most obscure and simple deaths such as a tiny bug, he will still say so it goes.  For example, he writes "So Billy uncorked it with his thumbs. It didn't make a pop. The champagne was dead. So it goes" (73).  I think that Vonnegut repeats this to show that even after the death of a human being, it is still only one death.  Other people, creatures, and even object die all of the time. If we put that in perspective, then we see that we are not as important as we make ourselves out to be.