Is that Vonnegut?

Through the book we still are reading about Billy's life. I can't help to wonder, Is Vonnegut Billy Pilgrim? When I read this book, the narrator talks about all the bad things that happens to him.

Vonnegut at the beginning of the book has a character, which name we don't know. The only thing we know about him is that he was int he Bombing of Dresden and that he is trying to write a book about it. In the book, Billy Pilgrim also experience the bombing. I wonder is Billy that character from the first chapter, and is that charcter Vonnegut?

I decided to look for Vonnegut's biography. He was a prisoner of war which really influenced his work. He was imprisoned in Dresden, Vonnegut was chosen as a leader of the POWs, because he spoke some German. While a prisoner, he witnessed the fire bombing of Dresden in February 1945. Looking at some of the the events in his life, and then going back to Pilgrim you can really see a connection. Billy when he became a prisoner, he is ordered to move. He joined a stream of POWs marching in the road. I was able to see that there is a whole connection between the author and the main character in the book. I can't wait to see all the other thing they have in similar.

So it goes

In the second chapter of Slaughter House-Five, we are presented to a new character, Billy Pilgrim. We can see how Billy travels through time and  by the theory of Trafalmadorians, he explains the true nature of it. Vonnegut doesn't really tell Billy's story in a chronological way, but instead we're seeing his whole life passing to define him.

In this second chapter, we see Billy's life pass through, including war. Billy, you can say that really isn't the best soldier. He doesn't have actual friends in war that would give there life for him. Already into the chapter Billy meets Roland Weary. He saved Billy's life once, for his own delusional fantasy of heroism. Then Vonnegut expresses that war is war and death is death. 

I really don't know why this book remind me of all of those post or apocalyptical movies, especially The Road. In this book/movie theres two characters, a father and its son. They are journeying in a post-apocalyptic world. They are looking for warmth and for more "good guys". This actually reminds me of this, because the novel is always implying that there are non hero without villains and victims. In the road like in all apocalyptic and any type of book/movie theres: victims, villains and heroes. 

Anti-War Books Don't Exist

In the first chapter of Slaughter House-Five, Vonnegut, the author, decides he wants to write a book, an antiwar book. The narrator was present in the Bombing of Dresden. He wants to talk about this event that marked him, but he doesn't really now what. He says that is hard to remember things that maked you suffer, even if you want to remember them. I had heard about this event before, but I didn’t really know the story behind it. So I decided to research it.

The Bombing of Dresden was a military attack by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air force. They were Allied forces in the Second World War. They send 3,600 planes, from which 1,300 were heavy bombers. They dropped approximately 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices into Baroque, destroying 15 square miles of the city center.

The author says he can’t really remember much. He remembers silly things such as songs, especially one, “My Name is Yon Yonson”. He tries to reunite with an old war buddy, Bernard V. O’ Hare. The author really wants to talks with V. O’ Hare about the bombing. He has the same problem, he remembers vaguely that event. While going to visit V. O’ Hare he got meet his wife. His wife is in total disagreement with the author to write this book, because he thought it would say that war is wonderful. She also said that anti-war books don't exist. The character of Mary V. O’ Hare really stood out to me, I really see her and all I can see is Ms. Pillsbury from Glee, the psychologist. Ms. Pillsbury roll really is always looking out for the children of Glee and from all the school. So does Mary V. O’ Hare, when she doesn’t want Vonnegut to write the book because it will influence babies. She is especially trying to protect hers and Bernard V. O’ Hare sons. 

Theory of Perfection

People can consider what happiness is by judging the perfection that surrounds them and by that they may also think they can judge the quality of their life. John Koethe describes the perfect life as the moment that he lives in his youthful years. For him it is youth that makes you see everything no matter how dull it is in the most wonderful way, making it seem even the simplest life has no way of being imperfect. In an indirect way he describes perfection as the journey people live throughout life. He expresses that as the human mind matures throughout time it become concerned about the flaws that life may bring and with that perfection starts to loose itself as life passes making even the most beautiful things appear cold. With that it is safe to say that slowly and as the years go by the person will loose not just physical but also there mental strength and in a indirect way is comparing perfection with the human body, with a strong and empowering youth that slowly deteriorates until the moment of death.

"Life is a constant expectative of the future." In my opinion perfection is in the eyes of the beholder. I do relate in a way to John Koethe in his poem of "The Perfect Life", because I do think when you are younger you always have motivation to do what ever you put your mind up to do but as you get older that motivation you had in your younger ages is not there. But in the other hand I hope when I do grow up that doesn't happen to me because I always want to an interest in life and I don't think anyone should close their mind to new ideas because of their age.