FREE ESSAY ON SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE

SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE

Universal Essay: Slaughterhouse Five
Throughout history, society, in general, has been molded by the ravages of war. From King
Henry VII's invasion of Brittany, to the bloodshed on the shores of Iwo Jima, all the way
to the present-day territory dispute in Bosnia and Herzegovina, war abounds mankind and
its short history. As nations, ethnicities, ect. constantly attempt to outdo one another
war will continue to arise. In recent years much has been said about the poor effects war
has on society in a general sense; but what does war do to an individual? This is a
question often avoided as a result of the bitter truth: War can all but destroy the sane
mind of the common man. This is a fact that was abundantly presented in Kurt Vonnegut's
absurdist classic Slaughterhouse Five. The story is initially set during World War II,
but moves from place to place, and from time period to time period throughout the novel.
The story centers around the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden and the mythic journey of
an American soldier/ prisoner-of-war named Billy Pilgrim. Pilgrim suffers from post
traumatic stress syndrome and imagines his abduction by aliens, and a great journey
through space and time, to a fictional planet named Tralfamadore. A great deal of strange
thoughts occurred inside Bill Pilgrim's mind, but Billy had no control over these
thoughts. War has an uncanny ability to inflict mental stress on man.
The story of Billy Pilgrim is a near-perfect example of the horrendous way in which war
can affect the mind of the common man. As a prisoner of war, Billy Pilgrim is subjected
to daily torture ranging from beatings and malnourishment. Pilgrim also witnessed the
beatings of many other soldiers, some of whom he was familiar with. Billy Pilgrim's mind
was not only a victim of torture, but also the Dresden fire-bombings -- one of the most
deadly acts of war ever. Despite the fact that Billy was confined to a subterranean
prisoner-of-war camp during the bombings, he was still able to see the full effects of
the event as he later viewed the mangled corpses of his former captors. As the stress of
the atrocities that Billy had seen began to build up in his mind, the point was reached
where Billy Pilgrim simply couldn't handle the mental strain of war anymore.
One could assume that Billy Pilgrim was, at one time, a very strongminded man.
Regardless, the repercussions of war, from a mental standpoint, reeked havoc on Billy
Pilgrim throughout Slaughterhouse Five. Billy's corrupted sanity allowed his mind to take
him on an incredible journey through space and time. After Billy Pilgrim's fictional
alien abduction, he is taken to the planet of Tralfamadore (in a flying saucer) where he
meets an interesting breed of aliens. Tralfamadore is a very different land than Earth.
The most apparent of the differences is the fact that death does not exist to the
inhabitants of Tramfaldore as it does on Earth. As Billy Pilgrim's delusions continued he
met a host of strange characters in Tramfaldore and witnessed some peculiar events.
Pilgrim's adventures may seem comical when first discussed, but in reality such insanity
is not a laughing matter at all.
The anguish of war can do so much to harm the mind of the common man. From post-traumatic
stress, to deep depression, to complete insanity, the effects of war, from a mental
standpoint, can do no good to a man. If one was to imagine living through daily torture
and malnourishment, then possibly, one would have an idea of what war is like. Real wars
are not like the ones depicted in many movies; the good guys don't always win. Quite
often the good guys are ruthlessly shot dead in battle as one helplessly looks on. In the
longrun the United States did earn a victory in World War II, Billy Pilgrim, however,
lost his war. And so it goes -- war will continue and more people will lose their minds.