Slaughterhouse-Five and the Psychological Consequences of War :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

How nice- to feel nothing, and compose get full credit for being alive (Vonnegut 181). In Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five the main character truncheon Pilgrim experiences few emotions during his time in institution War II. His responses to people and events lack intensity or passion. Throughout the bracing billystick describes his time travel to different moments in his life, including his experience with the creatures of Tralfamadore and the outpouring of Dresden. He wishes to die during most of the novel and is unable to connect with closely anyone on Earth. The fictional planet Tralfamadore appears to be Billys exclusively way of escaping the horrors of contend, and acts as coping mechanism. Billy seems to be a soldier with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (posttraumatic stress disorder), as he struggles to utter feelings and live in his reality. At the beginning of the novel the narrator proposes his lawsuit for writing the book is to explain what happened i n the Dresden fire bombing, yet he focuses on Billys psyche more than the bombing itself. PTSD prevents Billy from living a healthy life, which shows readers that the contend does not ruin after the fighting is over and the aftermath is ongoing. Billy Pilgrims bosh portrays the bombing and war in a negative light to readers, as Vonnegut shows the damaging effects of war on an individual, such as misperception of time, unplug from peers, and inability to feel strong emotions, to overall create a stronger message. Billy Pilgrim time travels to various moments in his life at random, which suggests he has no power over his mind and the memories that haunt him. He is spastic in time, (and) has no control over where he is going next (Vonnegut 43), as he struggles to make sense of his past. Billys ability to think events in an erratic sequence, mirrors the happenings of war. War is sudden, fast paced, and filled with unexpected twists and turns. Billy cannot forget wh at he experienced during his time as a soldier, and in turn his mind subconsciously imitates this hectic quality of war. This behavior proves that although the war is over, psychologically, Billy has never fully left (Vees-Gulani). For many soldiers, especially those who were prisoners of war (POW), it is inevitable that their mind will not be like it in one case was (Vees-Gulani).