Slaughterhouse Five, pages 119-136

On previous entries, I was wondering how the narrator of the Dresden novel knew everything about Billy Pilgrim’s life and experiences. I concluded that the narrator was, in fact, Billy Pilgrim, as there was no other reasonable way of explaining how another individual apart from himself could have known Billy’s thoughts and history. On page 121, however, I found a quote that said, “It would make a good epitaph for Billy Pilgrim-and for me, too.” (p. 121). This quote proved to me that the conclusions I had made about Billy’s identity were incorrect, that Billy and the narrator were, in fact, different individuals. Later on, on page 125, the narrator’s identity was finally revealed while Billy Pilgrim was taking a tour around the latrines in the middle of the night. “An American near Billy wailed that he had excreted everything but his brains. Moments later he said, ‘There they go, there they go.’ He meant his brains. That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book.” (p.125). The most ironic aspect is that now that I know that the narrator was actually a prisoner of war (like it was revealed in the first chapter), I have many more questions than I had in the beginning. How did the author know everything about Billy’s life? Why did he choose to narrate Billy’s story if, until now, he has not even exchanged words with him?

Later on in the novel, Billy recalled a moment when Montana Wildhack, an actress, was taken to Tralfamadore to be studied by the aliens. The creatures’ reaction to Montana’s hollering was so intense that “All the little green hands closed tight, because Montana’s terror was so unpleasant to see.” (p. 133). This instance shows how cowardly Tralfamadorias really are, amidst the first impression of superiority the reader gets from them. I believe that running away from possible problems in one’s life is not the solution to the problem. The situation is not going to disappear, and will keep on hunting the person until the difficulty is finally solved. This shows how the first impressions we get from individuals do not necessarily reveal their true character, and in order for us to judge them, we would need to know them much better. This makes me think that possibly the fourth dimension is not actually a symbol of alien superiority, but just a mechanism that will help them cope with their problems in a much easier way, without actually having to face the situation.

Throughout this chapter, the reader got introduced to the character of Howard W. Campbell Jr, a former American working for the German ministry. This individual describes Americans as filthy, unloving creatures who “…despised any leader from among their own number, refused to follow or even listen to him, on the grounds that he was no better than they were…” (p. 131). This fragment reminds me of Andrew Jackson, former president of the United States. He used to claim that “every man is as good as his neighbor, perhaps equally better.” Although the real purpose behind this exaggeration of democracy was the spoils system, Jackson democracy and its effects on Americans a century later were hazardous. It is therefore important to heed Confucius’ teachings of the middle way, always avoiding the extremes, as well as the importance of the conservation of balance, advocated by the Taoist theory.