In Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut uses elements of science-fiction to

emphasize the absurdity of war as well as the struggle of Billy Pilgrim to

accept reality

Coping with an unstable reality and a crumbling world around you is present
within many of the minds of soldiers dealing with the trauma that war can cause. A
feeling of unease and instability with the people in your life as if time has stopped
and you are perpetually stuck in another man’s shoes, not being able to recognize
your surroundings or continue with your life as it was before the horrors of war.
This feeling, along with the feeling of distortion and disorientation plague the main
character of Billy Pilgrim, a Second World War survivor and this story explores
his science-fiction journey through grappling his war experiences and coming to
accept them as part of him.

Through non-linear storytelling the author, a war survivor himself, Kurt

Vonnegut explores the broken mind of a man who has witnessed the worst of war
and the atrocities that human kind is capable of. The story, without a concrete
beginning, middle or end demonstrates the way the character of Billy experiences
his life out of order, taking us through time, jumping from one point of his life unto
the next without any cohesive thread. Brilliantly linking the unstable and always
moving nature of war with the science-fiction element of time travel, Vonnegut
also delves into the struggle of accepting reality that many soldiers face after war,
including Billy. Another sci-fi element that accompanies this story of hurt and
acceptance are the aliens known by Billy as Tralfamadorians, an alien race quite
different than the human. Their way of life and their perception of time appeals to
Billy, due to the fact that they are able to perceive their entire lives and choose a
specific moment to look back on. Never being given the choice to go to war and
become a prisoner of it, Billy is captivated by the Tralfamadorians’ concept of time
and choice. As the School Work Helper Editorial Team puts it:

Traflamadorians can “shift” through time as seamlessly as humans can walk

towards a point. This ability allows them to focus on the pleasant moments
in the history of the Universe and ignore the aspects of time they dislike.
With this the author also places the spotlight on the absurdity of war and the lack
of choice that many of the soldiers faced, as well as the medical help that was not
offered in order for them to cope with their experiences and find stability in their
lives. According to writer Krisandra R. Johnson:

Kurt Vonnegut’s brilliance remains in his ability to integrate absurd and

humanist philosophies to create charismatic stories that encourage his
readers to better the communities in which they exist.

No matter the truthfulness of this story, whether it’s a fantasy created by a

tortured and tormented mind of a man with wild imagination or a coping
mechanism to which any soldier can relate, it is an absurdly honest portrayal of
war and the sufferings that accompany it. In the words of New Yorker writer
Salman Rushdie:

It is perfectly possible, perhaps even sensible, to read Billy Pilgrim’s entire

Tralfamadorian experience as a fantastic, traumatic disorder brought about
by his wartime experiences—as “not real.” Vonnegut leaves that question
open, as a good writer should.

Angela Krstevska
Works Cited:

Johnson, Krisandra. A Blend of Absurdism and Humanism: Defending K

ending Kurt Vonnegut’ s Place in the Secondary Setting. Butler University
Libraries. Web accessed 2018,
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=bjur

Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team. “Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5:

Summary & Analysis”. School Work Helper. Web accessed 2010,
https://schoolworkhelper.net/kurt-vonneguts-slaughterhouse-5-summary-analysis/

Rushdie, Salman.” What Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” Tells Us

Now” .The New Yorker. Web accessed 13 June 2019,
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-kurt-vonneguts-
slaughterhouse-five-tells-us-now