The Cry of Victory

The end of Slaughterhouse-Five was no disappointment. Answering questions and hinting even more qualities of Billy, I just stood up and clapped, well mostly in my mind. 

The description of the bombing of Dresden was very interesting, it left me surprised to see how it influenced the story. Even better I finally could connect the dots that compared Billy and Kurt Vonnegut. Both were sent to the army young and unexperienced, they had felt great lose for loved ones, the different ways they portray life with different theories such as the Tralfamadorian way of life. They were real eye openers for me. One can see the true meaning of life in other peoples eyes. The way Billy hides from his mother to not show his hate for life. With the different behaviors of different characters throughout the book one can observe life´s purpose. The book is a world of connections. 

Ending the book in a way that left much analyzing to do, was spectacular.  ¨Poo-tee-weet¨ was the ending. My class discussed the meaning of this word. A bird´s cry  meant that there was nothing left, just the aftermath of human actions. ¨There is nothing intelligent to say after a massacre¨. After countless ¨So it Goes¨ I have enjoyed the book. You just need to wait for the door to go unlocked. 

Bitter Sweet Revenge

Yes, Lazzaro did have an influence on Billy. As Lazzaro tries to come up with some good comeback toward the Englishman who broke his hand he tells Billy and Edgar Dreary how good revenge feels. “It’s the sweetest thing there is.” (Page 139)

I came up on various blogs that talked about Lazzaro’s addiction towards revenge and one of them was Daniela’s blog. She made and interesting connection between how revenge is appealing but it might go wrong with the movie "The Hit List". I must agree with her that sometimes desires that aren't controlled may go wrong and in the case of the movie, horribly wrong. 

Everyone has always wished for revenge or has gained it but hardly about taking someones life away. I always wish on revenge, in my "career" of video games and most of the time gain it. Having revenge is nice, to know that your opponent has tasted a little of his medecine and you have shown you can bring it on. 

We have seen revenge, the kind of which Lazzaro talks about in the novel, in history. It mostly ends up in the wrong direction. So is it worth to feel the "sweetness" if it only lasts a while and bringing pain to other people, because at the end it's just one huge circle, someone will end up searching their sweet revenge on you. 

Middle path into Mordor

Completing Chapter 5, I finally answered some questions I had from the beginning, Billy is actually a war companion from Vonnegut. “There they go, there they go.” He meant his brains. That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book.” (Page 125)

Not only learning now Billy’s actual identity in this book but maybe Vonnegut chose Billy because he was so special, with his time travelling and his alien encounters. Billy is even acting more mature, so to say, accepting his fate and his actions because of the Tralfamadorian method that has influenced his thoughts and his way of living completely.

Vonnegut also introduces new characters to the novel such as Lazzaro, who will have an influence on Billy’s life later on and Montana, which is introduced to the Tralfamadorian zoo that also has an influence in Billy’s life with sleeping with her and creating a barrier with his wife, Valencia.

I am eager to continue the novel to find out when exactly Billy dies and how but most importantly what happens in Dresden. I guess I could say, I have found another piece of the puzzle is found.