Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Slaughterhouse Five: Germans VS Aliens

Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut

Billy arrives at the German POW camp after being crammed into a train car for hours, and going in and out of consciousness during the ride. He also experiences multiple flashbacks/flashforwards during his transfer, which also contributed to his delirium. By the time Billy finally got into the POW camp, he didn't know where or when he was. he originally believes he was on Tralfamadore, for he was being inspected much like he was on the alien planet. He didn't question the Germans' commands, for he thought he had already lived this moment on Tralfamadore. Once billy takes off his clothes, the reader realizes that the Germans are similar to the aliens, since "That was the first thing they told him to do on Tralfamadore, too" (Vonnegut 83). Such a similarity may suggest that the Tralfamadorians that Billy has mentioned are completely fictional. Something in his life has definitely caused him these vivid time-traveling experiences, but to immediately accept alien activity seems too naive. Billy is most likely, when thinking of the aliens that took him, imagining his German captors and changing their features to disillusion his past. This way, Billy could try and wipe the war out of his memory, and replace it with something that actually interested him, which is Science Fiction!

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