Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Chapter 1
“I would hate to tell you what this lousy little book cost me in money and anxiety and time.” (p.2)
As I read how the narrator talks about his initial hopes of this book and then how he struggled writing it, I thought of my grandmother. She has always encouraged me to keep a diary of my life, to keep a journal of my trips or simply write what’s on my mind. As a loyal grandmother, she considers that I have really good writing abilities and even better stories and opinions to narrate. I, following my grandmother’s advice, once tried to keep a journal during one of my summer camp vacations. I now consider it a really cute memory as I read through it and once more experience what I was living at the moment, however I also discovered something about myself, I definitely do not want to be a writer when I grow up. Even though I tend to enjoy writing I don’t think I have the ability to actually dedicate my life to it. As I read through my old journal I see how at first I was very excited about it but each day it got simpler, less detailed, and less interesting. Maybe I do have as much potential as my grandmother hopes I do but I really have to work on my writing skills. Even my PSAT scores suggested improving in that are so I guess that is one of this year’s goals: improve my writing skills.
Going back to the text, I agree with the writer regarding that one can have many interesting things to tell and that one might have lived great experiences, that well narrated, can be great written pieces. However, I also support his idea that getting his memories and experiences into words might not be as easy as hoped. From the narrator’s experience, though, a book really did end up existing and even though he might have wasted “money and anxiety and time,” he at least was able to finish it and publish it and got the whole world to know about his experience.

Chapter 2
As I read, I am trying to discover what is the real significance of the “Tralfamadore” in the story. I wonder if it is like a hidden message that the author is trying to get to the reader and that I just haven’t got yet, or of it is literal that Billy Pilgrims´ character believes that he was kidnapped by aliens. It might be a subliminal message that is trying to get to me and that, by the end of the book, I might get. Or maybe it is absolutely nothing. I will keep my mind open to it and see if later on in the book I get to understand what the purpose of including this in the story is.
I also see how society, and his own daughter, react to his statements and it brings me back to reality. Even thought they are different things, this situation can be compared to some current ones like homosexualism, and other opinions and beliefs that are not really accepted by society. Even though many minds have expanded and there is currently more liberty on certain subjects, many are discriminated by their lifestyles and ideals. Big institutions like the Catholic Church are also responsible for this kind of reactions since they themselves react in a discriminating way. I think that it is very sad the way in which the people around Billy Pilgrim react to his stories but then I think about it in current context and I realized that today, the same thing would probably end up happening. He would be considered a wacko and sent to some asylum or if he is allowed to stay at home with his family, I am sure many would have prevented his publication of stories.

Chapter 3
“GOD GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE, COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN, AND WISDOM ALWAYS TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE. “(p.60)
This prayer is on Billy’s office’s wall. I believe this was quite a smart move, he reads it every day and that way ensures that he will do all that is possible to keep true to it. Even as I read it, I myself, hope that I too will be granted the ability to differentiate such things and act accordingly to each. This is a very direct prayer and I believe it is self explanatory. In life there are things that one will never be able to change no matter how hard you try. You might be able to change your perspective on it but never the thing itself. In these cases it is important to just accept these conditions and instead of fighting against them and suffering in life, just accept them and take advantage of them. One must find a way in which this unchangeable factor helps or supports and use it in a beneficial way. However, there are other things in life that can definitely be changed, it might not be easy, but it is absolutely possible. It is also probable that it in these cases you don’t find an immediate solution but with time and patience and perseverance, one can accomplish what is needed. This can help you turn bad thing into good ones and it can help you live your life as it should be. An example of a slow, but accomplished change that was seen in life was the equality of men and woman, and of blacks and whites. Even though one individual may not accomplish this on its own, many people, standing together can accomplish much, just like it has been shown in the past. This may also regard to simpler subjects and decisions, to personal ideals and perspectives, which can change one individual’s life. But the last part of this statement is the most important, one must learn to differentiate which things can be changed and which can’t so that time and effort is well spent in something that will be successful. This, however, is the hardest part since one doesn’t always really know what comes next and how one can influence your own life, many people, or even the whole world.

Chapter 4
Time traveling is a technique that that Kurt Vonnegut has been using throughout the book. He uses a technique in which the main character has flashbacks and lets us know about his past. This I think is sometimes very confusing since it is hard to keep track of so many events and try to fit them together at the corresponding moment.
I also think that this strategy is emphasized in a way to tell the reader to take advantage of the present since we many times get lost in our past and future. I think it is OK to enjoy memories and sometimes rest upon them, and that it is also OK to have dreams to lead you to a great future, but most importantly, I think one must enjoy the moment. This is important because otherwise it is hard to enjoy life since you cannot make new happy memories or you can’t base your future on something, you just live in a fantasy and you might never be able to get back from it. I think the author is trying to tell us that we should enjoy and exploit the current moment because it is filled with emotions, thoughts, and actions that will get you somewhere in life and will guarantee your current happiness and satisfaction.
The main character is also able to travel in time to the future, later on in the book when he is lost in time he remembers a moment during his honeymoon when he lets her wife know he likes her just the way she is but he only does this because he already knows what their future together will be like. " He had already seen a lot of their marriage, thanks to time-travel, knew that it was going to be at least bearable all the way." (p. 120) If we were all able to do this, many people would be able to avoid making many of the mistakes they do in life, they would be able to prevent taking some actions and would make sure to make some others. I wonder what it would be to live in a way that one already knows what will happen and no longer have many surprises. I wonder if this is one of the reasons why Billy didn't like his life that much, it was a solved mystery to him, while the rest of us are constantly wondering what will come next and how we will go on. Because of this it might be that Billy is always lost in time, he doesn't care if it is the past, the future, or the present to him, since they are practically all the same to him, he can visit either one any time he wants. We, as humans, instead do not have that opportunity and that is why the author tries to emphasize the fact that we should enjoy our present and live it as best we can without getting lost in our past and futures.