Materialism In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughter House-Five

In the novel Slaughter House-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, challenges the thinking of American society by incorporating the element of satirizing materialism and the worship of objects as an inadequate source of meaning for life. The theme of materialism arises often in the text and can be interpreted as a delightful purpose of life for many characters that are all commonly corrupt and discontented. Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran who was in the city of Dresden when the destruction of Dresden occurred, seems to have a different outlook on how life is structured and what really matters. Although like most other characters Billy himself too gets ridiculed by Vonnegut’s subtle satire on materialism. After the war Billy is an optometrist and is living reasonably well in a Georgian home in Ilium. Residing in the city of Ilium where the General Forge and Foundry Company is, safety goggles are high in demand and Billy says, “Frames are where the money is” (Vonnegut 24) referring to how the profession can result in having a high income. Talking about the optometry business in general, it brings in a good about of revenue because when patients receive eyeglasses, the tendency for your vision to fluctuate increases and you have to keep going back to get new frames with your new prescription. This also refers to the materialistic aspect and how certain individuals have to always have the newest, in this sense referring to the newest frames. He was making over sixty thousand dollars a year, gave his wife stylish gifts, and drove and Cadillac. Despite having all of these possessions, “Billy’s home was empty” (Vonnegut 61) Materialistic dependencies are a distraction from compassionate ideals that are focused more around social aspects of relatio...

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...are rather very cheap sometimes, they usually contain commercial and mass produced items that aren’t unique and anyone can have. From worthless items people can build a value that essentially covers up the underlying problem but by finding satisfaction in that illogical idea gives them a comfort zone for a limited amount of time till they find a better item to put their importance in. This phenomenon itself on its own creates a chase, chase after the everlasting circle of materialism. The distinguished grasping item is then given to Billy and he tries to compose a purpose of life out of it as well. “And the crucifix went up on the wall of Billy Pilgrim” (Vonnegut 39) Even though it meant valuable to Bill’s mother, she doesn’t keep it. Billy doesn’t care much about it because he isn’t so religious and this item that mattered so much once has become a piece of scrap.