Chapter Five

     Chapter five is full of events which is expected from being the longest chapter.  At this point in the plot American prisoners of war are being moved into a prisoner camp where British soldiers are living.  The british "looked in astonishment at the frowsy [americans who] so lustily waltzed inside." (Vonnegut 123).  They were surprised at how scrawny and unhealthy the American soldiers looked.  The British were expecting strong brave soldiers who could easily defeat the enemy but instead they discovered weak soldiers.

Chapter 4

     This chapter reminds me of the movie Chicken Little strictly because of when Billy becomes abducted by aliens.  In Chicken Little, Chicken Little sees an alien UFO in the sky and tells the whole town.  No one believes him, so everyone thinks he is crazy and unintelligent.  That is besides the point though because when Chicken Little spots the UFO it has a laser beam shoot down and abduct things.  In this book, Billy says that a laser shot down on him forcing him to grab on to the rope ladder which then took him into the UFO.

Chapter 4

     During the beginning of this chapter, Billy's daughter is getting married.  Billy is constantly time traveling, but he is currently in a past state of mind because he has already lived this part of his life.  Billy knew "He had an hour (to kill) before the saucer came." (Vonnegut, 93).  He went and stood in his back yard when he knew the saucer would be there to kidnap him.  Once on the ship the tralfmadorinans begin to discuss free will with him.  They state that Earth is the only planet that has this idea of "free will". 

Chapter 3

     This chapter reminds me of when I wish that I was somewhere else during an awkward or unwanted situation.  I think that Billy Pilgrim wishes he was not in the war and that is why he keeps becoming unstuck in time.  I see this as day dreaming.  Sometimes in school people fall asleep.  When this happens they dream of being somewhere else that makes them happy because they are unhappy being in school at that moment.  Billy does the same thing when he is in a rough situation.

Chapter 3

     Vonnegut starts off chapter three by continuing with the previous situation from chapter two.  Billy Pilgrim and Weary are captured by German soldiers in Luxembourg.  Pilgrim keeps time traveling and switching in and out of his two lives (duality).  Billy was in his optometry office and then "he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back in World War Two again." (Vonnegut, 73).  The one life is in his previous state, which is World War II, and the other is in his normal day life back in his home town.  Billy becomes unstuck in time, and this is the root of causing him to flashback.

Chapter 2

     Chapter two can be compared to the later part in persons lives. As a person grows older their brain deteriorates which causes them to not act normal.  Everyone does this at a different pace.  The younger generations take notice of this and begin to feel like they should take care of their family member or friend.  Billy's daughter thinks that her Dad has gone crazy from a brain injury in a plane crash.  She does not realize that Billy is telling the truth.  He can see life in different ways due to an alien abduction.  She feels embarrassed of her dad because it is highly unlikely that this happened and her father is publicly displaying the information.

Chapter 2

     In Chapter two of "Slaughterhouse-Five" repitition is used frequently.  Billy Pilgrim, the main character, experienced an alien kidnapping by tralfamadorians.  They provided unknown knowledge to Billy about death and how they percieve it.  The tralfamadorians see death as a part of life in which a person is unhealthy.  In their own world, they see the past, present, and future all at the same time unlike Americans, who only live in the present.  During his time on Tralfamadore, Billy picked up the phrase "so it goes" (Vonnegut. 45).  He uses this phrase to indicate a death has happened.  Billy utilizes this phrase to describe multiple deaths that have happened throughout his lifetime in chapter two.

    The beginning of this book reminds me of war movies such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers".  A main character (Vonnegut) reflects on their war efforts.  During their reflection, they explain how memories of war scar them for life as well as others.  Veterans share their stories just like Vonnegut so that people will realize that war is not healthy.  There are other ways to solve problems.  Do not get me wrong though, I think war is necessary in order to keep the world at peace.

      In the first chapter of Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut explains the process of how his book came to be. He provides insight to why he wanted to write this book and explains that "all [of] this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true." (Vonnegut, 1). The author talks about how he fought in Dresden, and that it is hard for him to recall events that took place. He knows this though, and that is the war was scary and corrupted many peoples lives. Vonnegut searches for an old war friend of his and together they use time travel to discuss ideas for the book.