It also emphasises the way in which his war experiences clearly never left him, creating a kind of eternal present in the novel. It allows him to focus on the war throughout without ignoring either what comes before or after. Vonnegut’s central premise also provides an explanation of his structure as the narrative moves restlessly backwards and forwards through Billy’s life. (Or that Pilgrim becomes an optician – this is a novel that is all about the way we see things). It’s no surprise, therefore, that Vonnegut’s alter ego, the Cassandra-like Kilgore Trout, makes an extended appearance, unable to make a living from his science fiction novels, which are to be found gathering dust as window dressing in an adult book store. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. Only by adopting the viewpoint of an alien race can we even begin to understand it, “seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rockies.” “And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like, ’Poo-tee-weet?’” “Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds.
In fact, Vonnegut is not simply introducing his theme, but his approach to it: the bombing of Dresden is he contends, like all such acts of mass violence, incomprehensible: “When I got home from the Second World War twenty three years ago, I thought it would be easy to write about the destruction of Dresden since all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen…But not many words about Dresden came from my mind then…And not many words come now…” In it Vonnegut is keen to establish the truth of his experience at Dresden, the importance of writing about it, and the difficulty of writing about it: Interestingly, what would seem to be a preface is identified as chapter one – intrinsic to the novel itself. Here, however, this intimate, almost confessional tone is used initially not to animate Vonnegut’s characters but to discuss his attempts to write the book we are reading.
A science fiction novel, featuring a protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, who travels backwards and forwards along the timeline of his life, experiencing reality in the same way as the alien race that kidnap him and take him via flying saucer to their home planet, Tralfamadore, where he is placed on public display, it begins:Īs usual with Vonnegut, everything is carried along by the world weary honesty of the narrative voice, exemplified by the novels’ catchphrase: In Slaughterhouse 5 Kurt Vonnegut performs an astonishing balancing act between reality and fantasy. We see Vonnegut using similarities between Cinderella and Slaughterhouse Five to show in depth how Billy is treated.The Year of Reading Dangerously – Kurt Vonnegut Cinderella has two evil step-sisters and we can see that Billy has two evil friends, Roland Weary and Paul Lazarro. Billy is an honorable man, and part of an honorable company but is mocked and ridiculed for his looks and is forced to wear things that do not fit him properly such as the woman's coat. Cinderella is the beautiful daughter of an honorable man, but is forced by her step mother and sisters to wear rags and is ridiculed.
Throughout the novel, we see how Cinderella and Billy are alike. Vonnegut portrays Billy as a character similar to Cinderella, "Billy Pilgrim was Cinderella, and Cinderella was Billy Pilgrim'' (Vonnegut 145). The story of Cinderella and Slaughterhouse Five are alike and have similar aspects, but are not the same. Vonnegut says the story of Cinderella is the most popular story ever told to foreshadow the similarities between Cinderella and Slaughterhouse Five.
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