What Is The Difference Between Billy Pilgrim And Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegurt that tells about a soldier named Billy Pilgrim and his WW2 experiences and time travels. Vonnegut is mostly known for his work on Slaughterhouse-Five. He also brings a nonfiction element to the story with the use of the Dresden bombing as a focal point, as he witnessed it firsthand. The novel is also an example of how war can destroy someone mentally as well as physically. Billy ends up suffering from PTSD as a result of what he experienced during war.

The story is based off of a true event that Vonnegut experienced during combat in World War II. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., was born on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can see many similarities in the character Billy Pilgrim and Vonnegut himself because he tells of the events that he witnessed through the character of Billy Pilgrim. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., was captured by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge; he witnessed the Allied firebombing of

Dresden, Germany, on February 13, 1945 (“Literature Chronology”). Slaughterhouse-Five took place in a German city called Dresden. On February 13 and 14, 1945 allied aircraft dropped incendiary bombs on the German city of Dresden- a so-called “open city” with no significant military targets. They are transferred to Dresden because it was supposed to be safe from attacks. The prisoners of war are taken to an abandoned slaughterhouse-Slaughterhouse-Five. One night while the prisoners are in the underground slaughterhouse meat locker, Dresden is severely bombed by the allies despite its non strategic aspect to the war (“Slaughterhouse-Five 4”). Approximately one hundred American prisoners of war, captured at the Battle of the Bulge, were in Dresden during the bombing. Billy witnessed the firestorm bombing and managed to survive by taking shelter in a meat freezer. This major event is ironic and gives the novel its title (Bruccoli). The Author, Vonnegut was one of them and recalls the events in the life of the character Billy Pilgrim. The Dresden bombing remains as the “single heaviest air strike in history”. As a result 135,000 civilians are killed in the raid which is twice the amount that would later die at Hiroshima (“Slaughterhouse-Five 4”). In the book, the prisoners were put in a prisoner camp in Dresden also known as a slaughterhouse.
The whole story of Slaughterhouse-Five revolves around the life and complications of the main character Billy Pilgrim. Billy was born in Ilisum, New York in 1922. Billy enlisted into the Belgium army in World War II to fight the Germans. Immediately once combat occurred, Billy and a few others were captured behind German enemy lines. They were taken to a place called Dresden. Dresden was a prison camp in Germany during World War II. After suffering harsh times and conditions at Dresden, Billy became unstable and began to time travel in his mind. He also suffered from nervous collapses and PTSD. He learns the value of time after being captured by Tralfamadorians. Tralfamadorians are alien like species that captured him and brought him to their planet of Tralfamadore. There, he stayed at a zoo and learned values from the Tralfamadorians. Billy also lived a life with a family. He was married to his wife Valencia that was an obese daughter to a school founder. They had a daughter together named Barbara together. Post-war Billy became very talented optometrists. The only problem was that he would often fall asleep and suffer uncontrollable trips and time travels. Valencia died from a tragic car accident involving carbon monoxide poisoning on her way to visit Billy in the hospital. In 1968 Billy boarded a plane to arrive home to Ilisum New York. He was certain the plane would crash and he was right. He was rescued by skiers and when he was found he was saying the words “Slaughterhouse-Five” in German. Everyone thought he was done and would never wake up but two days later he woke up. The story concludes with Billy going on a talk show to talk about the perception of time. Billy throughout his life fought through many complications and disastrous effects. Nevertheless, he was still very successful optometrists with a complete family.
Billy Pilgrim is the most important character and perhaps the only important character in the book. “There are almost no characters in the story… because most of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces” (Slaughterhouse-Five 6). There is really nothing special about Billy. He is awkward, funny looking and scrawny. “He was powerless to harm the enemy or help his friends. In fact he had no friends” (Vonnegut 30).
In the war he held a position as the chaplain’s assistant which is seen as a joke to the others that were serving. Even though Billy was not in the war too long, the war still had rough lasting impacts on Billy mentally. Billy was sent out to combat in Luxenburg with little supplies and experience. He is shortly captured by the German Army because he gets lost behind enemy lines. To the Germans, he is a joke of a soldier. They take pictures of him to use as propaganda because he is so unwell equipped and pathetic. While imprisoned he is used as the “Dumper”, the one who dumps the body wastes. Billy is seen as and treated as a fool. Billy is made out to be perceived as a very passive character. Many things happen to him and he takes on the mentality that it is impossible to change anything (Bruccoli). Billy lives a normal life except for his frequent time lapses. He ends up marrying and having two kids and obtaining a steady income as an optometrist.
A major theme in Slaughterhouse-Five is that war can destroy people mentally as well as physically.

Due to the duty and events Billy Pilgrim experiences during combat in war, his unstable lifestyle after was an example that war can destroy people mentally as well as physically. Immediately after being sent to fight at the Battle of the Bulge, he is captured by the enemy. He is sent to a prison camp in Dresden Germany. Post war he suffers from collapses, PTSD, and he’s very unstable. This all occurs due to the violent rough nature of war and his unpreparedness for what was to occur in war. He wasn’t fit for war at all and what occurred was too much for him to handle. He was six feet tall and only 140 pounds. He was very tall and too skinny which made him unhealthy. Billy acted as though war was an ordinary event and treated it as though it was not important. Because of this attitude was Billy was greatly unprepared for war and it had major effects. Billy suffered from time travels and harsh trips and

spasms.
Sometimes the effects of war can have a lasting effect on a person. The effect on Billy was in most ways negative. He was very weak and unprepared both mentally and physically. The war had harsh impacts on Billy. After the war he suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). He was captured and put in a rough prison camp shortly after entering combat. PTSD is a very serious disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a stress-related psychological disorder that can cause people to experience simple problems with daily life. PTSD may develop in any person who undergoes a major traumatic experience such as an accident or a battle. Cases of PTSD arose immensely due to big wars such as World War I and World War II. PTSD gained prominence in the United States in the 1970s as the mental-health community wanted to improve the extreme postwar difficulties experienced by a number of Vietnam War veterans (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”). It may develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event. Symptons often include reoccurring flashbacks and bad memories. PTSD is usually not developed by people who experienced a traumatizing event. It takes a major traumatizing event to develop PTSD. PTSD is usually more likely to occur from Assault-based trauma. Billy experienced a really traumatic war event. Once he developed PTSD he experienced instability and time travels. He would trip really hard and see things different than reality. His PTSD became really bad. Even though it was mostly bad, he learned the fortune of time.
Foreshadowing and flashbacks play a huge role in the novel. After the war Billy is mentally unstable and frequently suffers from time traveling in his mind. This allows him to see events that take place in the future and to go back in time in his mind. Billy Pilgrim dies on February 13 1976-The anniversary of the Dresden bombing. His cause of death was murder. He was assassinated by an assassin sent by Paul Lazzaro, who promised he would take Billy’s life back when they were in the slaughterhouse together. Although Billy “has seen his own death many times” he is unnerved (“Slaughterhouse-Five 5”). Upon death Billy travels back to within an hour where he promised to take the life of Billy. Billy’s thoughts regarding death are similar to those that the Tralfamadores have. They have a view of “so it goes” and this is how Billy feels because he knows he will always exist in the past.
Due to the duty and events Billy Pilgrim experienced during combat in war, his unstable lifestyle after war was an example that war can destroy people mentally as well as physically. Billy first enlisted the war as an already weak individual mentally and physically but the war exploits this and literally destroys Billy. Billy begins to suffer from many complications post-war such as collapses, PTSD, spasms, and frequent time travel. The Author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. tells of the unnecessary bombing of Dresden and how it impacted the soldiers involved using a nonfiction element because Vonnegut experienced a lot of what Billy experienced. Among those soldiers was Billy Pilgrim. Billy Pilgrim is a great example of how war can really impact a person.