slaughterhouse 5 rewrite ( i didnt know how else to upload it)

Noah Boltik

Slaughterhouse five

“If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings," said the Tralfamadorian, "I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by 'free will.' I've visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will." A reoccurring theme in the novel Slaughterhouse Five is that free will is just an illusion, and seeing as this book is an anti-war book, it can be concluded that Billy keeps telling himself that he could not change the events that happened in the war so he could psychologically deal with the senseless destruction he has witnessed, there is also no doubt that he created the fantasy world of Tralfamadore for the sole purpose of trying to explain to himself why humanity is so cruel. The book promotes this idea: War is such a horrible and meaningless thing that it will cause all of those who have seen it to try to cope with it by getting lost in self-pity, losing faith in one’s ability to control things around them, and making themselves try to find ways to take away the guilt of being the destructive humans they think they are.

In the third chapter, the author explains how Billy had framed a prayer in his office. This prayer was supposed to make people “keep going”, although Billy soon after subtly claims to have no enthusiasm for living (because of his war experiences). The prayer says “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.” The book goes on to say “Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future." This quote explains that Pilgrim greatly pities himself with the belief that he cannot control the things around him. He does this to handle his war memories.

In chapter 4, Billy tells how the Tralfamadorians see all of time as a simultaneous and reoccurring spectrum: “All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is.” This quote explains how Billy believes that all events are unexplainable; that one cannot control events, and that one should not try to begin to understand life around them. He loses faith in his ability to control things to try to manage his feelings and memories about the war.

            In the next chapter, Billy is still on Tralfamadore, and is trying to urge the guide to tell him the secrets of peace so that he could go back to Earth and stop the humans’ wars before his planet destroys the Universe, but the Tralfamadorians tell Billy that they know how the Universe ends. They say “We blow it up, experimenting with new fuels for our flying saucers. A Tralfamadorian test pilot presses a starter button, and the whole Universe disappears.” Billy creates this scene in his head to take away some of his guilt about war; even his guilt about being a human. The alien also later explains that humans should ignore awful times and concentrate on the good ones, further expanding on the idea that Billy is just trying to live with what he’s seen in Dresdon.