Slaughterhouse-Five.
In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, the author uses the Tralfamadorian philosophy and the protagonist Billy Pilgrim's easy acceptance of it to enhance his anti-war theme. The Tralfamadorians, a fictional alien race from the planet Tralfamadore, see in the fourth dimension, time. They describe their view of time as looking at a stretch of mountains, with the choice to focus on whatever they wish. The entire stretch of time exists simultaneously. Humans, they say, have no control over which moment they see. Vonnegut uses this idea of simultaneity of events and Billy Pilgrim's acceptance of it as a commentary on war and modern society.
Vonnegut uses irony to affect the reader throughout the book, but it is most effectively used as a device to convey his anti-war theme. As a Tralfamadorian says to Billy of the Tralfamadorian test pilot who destroys the universe at the press of a button, "He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way," (149). This acquiescence to the inevitability of events illustrates how society "Ignore[s] the awful times, and concentrate[s] on the good ones," (150) - just like the Tralfamadorians. Vonnegut as an author and societal commentator relies on the negative reaction of the reader to this simple acceptance of war and destruction to convey his theme. Vonnegut also suggests that we have given up our free will through this ironic statement, made by a Tralfamadorian: "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," (109). Vonnegut's message is that we have relinquished our free will to the greater forces of evil, allowing war to flourish and ?destroy the better accomplishments of man, made in the past - the formerly beautiful and graceful city of Dresden, for example. The Tralfamadorians are a representation of humanity in the future. They are able to see in the future but do not try to prevent the horrible things they see happening. They have become apathetic towards death, since "When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is fine in plenty of other moments," (34).
In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, the author uses the Tralfamadorian philosophy and the protagonist Billy Pilgrim's easy acceptance of it to enhance his anti-war theme. The Tralfamadorians, a fictional alien race from the planet Tralfamadore, see in the fourth dimension, time. They describe their view of time as looking at a stretch of mountains, with the choice to focus on whatever they wish. The entire stretch of time exists simultaneously. Humans, they say, have no control over which moment they see. Vonnegut uses this idea of simultaneity of events and Billy Pilgrim's acceptance of it as a commentary on war and modern society.
Vonnegut uses irony to affect the reader throughout the book, but it is most effectively used as a device to convey his anti-war theme. As a Tralfamadorian says to Billy of the Tralfamadorian test pilot who destroys the universe at the press of a button, "He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way," (149). This acquiescence to the inevitability of events illustrates how society "Ignore[s] the awful times, and concentrate[s] on the good ones," (150) - just like the Tralfamadorians. Vonnegut as an author and societal commentator relies on the negative reaction of the reader to this simple acceptance of war and destruction to convey his theme. Vonnegut also suggests that we have given up our free will through this ironic statement, made by a Tralfamadorian: "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," (109). Vonnegut's message is that we have relinquished our free will to the greater forces of evil, allowing war to flourish and ?destroy the better accomplishments of man, made in the past - the formerly beautiful and graceful city of Dresden, for example. The Tralfamadorians are a representation of humanity in the future. They are able to see in the future but do not try to prevent the horrible things they see happening. They have become apathetic towards death, since "When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is fine in plenty of other moments," (34).
