The Days Gone By
Kurt Vonnegut wrote the novel Slaughterhouse 5. The character of Billy Pilgrim had past experiences that affected his present. Billy Pilgrim was a victim of terrible war events, including the Bombing in Dresden. This had resulted to many deaths. His past experiences have had a psychological impact on him, and his present mental state is influenced by them. His past experiences show that even though the war has ended, suffering can still be caused by war.
Billy Pilgrim’s experiences in war have impacted his psychological state. Billy Pilgrim thinks he was abducted from his planet Tralfamadore after he returns from war. He believes in the Tralfamadorians’ fourth dimension. It is the belief that all time, past, future, and present have existed and will continue to exist (16). He also experiences “unstuck time” (14) which allows him to experience past, present and future events. Billy’s reaction to tragic events and deaths after the war is also utterly indifferent. He says “so it goes” five times for every death he sees. As a result of the war, Billy becomes mentally disturbed and begins to believe in imaginary concepts. Billy is untethered in time and can relive his horrific past. This shows that even after the war is over, people will always remember the horrible events of war. Billy’s mental condition had been greatly affected by the war. He begins to believe that he is still alive and well in the present, but he is only in another moment. This is Billy’s escape from the terrible reality of war and death.
Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse 5, depicts Billy Pilgrim’s struggle with past issues. He is affected psychologically by his past of death and war. Billy’s relationship to his past illustrates how war can psychologically affect someone. He continues to feel the sufferings caused by war through his timeshifting and uses Tralfamadorian along with the concept the fourth dimension to cope with all the terrible events and deaths he experienced during wartime.