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Literary Analyis of Slaughterhouse-Five


He couldn't even walk right-kept bobbing up-and-down, up-and-down, driving everybody crazy, giving their position away. He was pitiful"" (Vonnegut 53). Billy Pilgrim does not get much love from the other, more experienced soldiers. A fight breaks loose when Billy and Roland Weary, the soldier who is looking after him, get left behind by their own troop. Billy and Roland are discovered by the Germans and are taken to a prison camp. After months of being stuck in a prison camp, Billy starts to believe that the world hates him and loses his faith in God.
             Other events that shape one's self can be traumatic and stay with a person for a long time. In the case of Billy Pilgrim, the fire-bombing of Dresden is the event that ultimately changes his view of the world and sets him up on the road to insanity. In 1945, Billy Pilgrim and one hundred other prisoners of war are transferred to Dresden, Germany and promised they will not be killed. "He was down in the meat locker the night that Dresden was destroyed. There were sounds like giant footsteps above. Those were sticks of high-explosive bombs. The giants walked and walked. The rest of the guards had, before the raid began, gone to the comforts of their own homes in Dresden. They were all being killed with their families " (Vonnegut 226). Pilgrim, after the raid, is sent to go and prepare all the dead bodies for burial. After some time, officials tell Billy and the other prisoners to use a flame thrower and burn the bodies instead because there are just too many to bury. When Billy sees all the dead bodies, the reader can easily infer that this event was very emotionally scarring. Billy Pilgrim wanted a better world to live in; one similar to a utopia where nobody had to see what he saw.
             The past life of Billy Pilgrim shaped how he viewed the world and set up his wanting for a more peaceful world. After World War II ends, Billy is released back into the civilian world and continues his search for happiness.


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