Chapter 4 Tralfamadorians and Buggers

     The scene described in Chapter 4, which describes the Tralfamadorians, is very similar to the Buggers in the book Ender's Game. "There were two peepholes inside the airlock- with yellow eyes pressed to them. There was a speaker on the wall. The Tralfamadorians had no voice boxes. They communicated telepathically. They were able to talk to Billy be means of a computer and a sort of electric organ which made every earthling speech sound." The Tralfamadorians were an extraterrestrial species that taken communication with people from Earth, just as the Buggers in Ender's Game.
     The Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse-five and the Buggers in Ender's Game have many similar characteristics.  Both of the extraterrestrial species are from another planet that are seeking communication between them and the people of earth. Both species also communicate telepathically. Because of their telepathy, it makes it very difficult for the people of earth  to understand them. The people of earth, in both books, have to make special devices, or devices made for them, to be able to communicate with the Tralfamadorians and the Buggers. Just as the Tralfamadorians are kidnapping people of earth, the Buggers also come to earth to communicate with the people of earth. Both of the extraterrestrial species have harmed the earthlings in some way or another. The buggers have taken war on the planet of earth and the Tralfamadorians are holding people of earth captive on their planet. The Tralfamadorians of Slaughterhouse-five  and the Buggers of Ender's Game are very similar.

Chapter 4 Bugs in Amber Metaphor

     In Chapter 4, Vonnegut uses the metaphor "Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, like I've said before, bugs in amber." When Billy is on the planet of Tralfamador, he keeps asking questions like "Why me?" and every time, the Tralfamadorians tell him that he is a bug in amber. When they say this, they are speaking of how he is there against his own free will. When bugs are stuck in amber, they have no way of escaping. Just as while Billy is on Tralfamador, he is stuck there with no way of returning.
The Tralfamadorians tell him to take it moment by moment because when you savor each moment that you are presented with you will begin to see how our lives are controlled by other things. They are trying to tell him that he has no control over what happens in his life, when he already knows that there are some things in his life that he can control.
     The metaphor that Vonnegut used can also be applied in our lives. We know that sometimes we have no control of things in our lives. Just as Billy Pilgrim asks "Why me?", we sometimes have the same questions. Like when something bad happens to us, we tend to ask questions that we will never know the answers to. Sometimes in our lives we are "bugs in amber" and feel as though we are stuck in life. When something bad happens to us or someone we know, we tend to feel just as Billy does. But just as Billy's plaque said in the last chapter, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change."

Chapter 3 Golden Boots Anecdote

    In Chapter 3, Billy is lying on the black ice after all of his possesions, including his boots, were taken by the German soldiers. Vonnegut inserted the anecdote "One time a recruit was watching him bone and wax those golden boots, and he held one up to the recruit and said 'If you look in there deeply enough, you'll see Adam and Eve." Vonneguts purpose of putting this anecdote in this particular part of the story was to show what was going on in Billy's mind as he lost all of his possesions. The reality that he had lost everything that he had had not hit him yet, so he was dreaming. Vonnegut also wanted us to see how important those boots were to Billy and how special they were to him. By saying that he could see Adam and Eve in them, Vonngut showed the endless possibilities that those boots gave Billy. With those boots, he had all the protection in the world! But now that they have been taken away from him, his protection has been lost. The boots were more than just boots, they were his home.
     The anecdote can also be relevent in our daily lives. No we may not be soldiers that were just captured, but we all have had something that was very special to us taken away. It may have been the smallest thing when we look back at it now, but at the time it may have seemed like our entire world has come to a halt. It may have been one of those things that offered us many hours of fun and games. When that thing was taken away from us, we felt as Billy Pilgrim did when he lost his boots to the German soldiers. Just as the boots were the most important possessions that Billy had, before they were taken away, we have all had those special things in our lives. We have all faced the devastation of something special being taken away from us, just as Billy has his boots taken away!

Chapter 3 Serenity

     During Chapter 3, the reader sees Billy Pilgrim in his modern life. It shows him in his office at work and it shows a special prayer that he keeps on his wall. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to always tell the difference. In this prayer, Billy expresses many things that he cannot change which include his past. No matter what he does, his past is always going to be the same. When the prayer talks about the courage to change the things I can, it talks about his future. One thing in his life that he can control is his future and the way that he deals with his past. His future can be whatever he wants it to be; it does not have to have anything to do with his past. He also has to remember the last line of the prayer "And the wisdom to know the difference". He knows that there are some things in his life that he can change and some that he can not. He needs to spend his time focusing on what he can change and not worry about the things he cannot change.
     The prayer above can also be used in our daily lives. Just as Billy has things in his life he cannot change, we also have things that cannot be changed. We need to accept that there will be certain things in our lives that we have absolutely no control over, but there are also things that we control! We cannot change our past, but we have complete control over our future. We need to spend all of our time focusing on what we can be and what we can become, instead of worrying about what our past has shaped us into. Just as Billy Pilgrim, we need to accept the things we cannot change, have the courage to accept the things we can, and have the courage to know the difference.

Chapter 2 Tweedledum or Tweedledee

     Vonnegut described Roland Weary walking around the battlefield as "Tweedledum or Tweedledee, all bundled up for battle." Vonnegut made the comparison between Ronald Weary and Tweedledum or Tweedledee in order for the reader to really visualize what Ronald Weary looked like during the time of the war. Just as Tweedledum or Tweedledee, Ronald Weary "was short and thick." Ronald Weary, at that point, was carrying every gift or present he had ever received, all the weapons he could hold, and everything from home you could imagine. Vonnegut wanted the reader to really be able to see what he was imagining Ronald Weary as when he was writing the book.

 
    Tweedledum or Tweedledee is a good comparison to Ronald Weary at this point in the story because of his appearance. Tweedledum or Tweedledee were cartoon characters from a 1951 Disney Animated Classic. They were two fairly large men, who were also funny looking characters. It is the perfect comparison to Ronald Weary because at the time he was also a "funny looking" person crawling through the forest . He was trying to escape imprisonment from the Germans. Most men at that point were packing light and staying in shape. Just as Tweedledum and Tweedledee looked different from the rest of the society that they lived in, Ronald Weary looked different from his surrounding soldiers. Vonnegut made a very good visualization for the reader by adding the characters of Tweedledee or Tweedledum to his novel.

Chapter 2 The Four Men and Mammals Simile

     Vonnegut used the simile "They crawled into a forest like the big, unlucky mammals they were" to explain what it was like for the soldiers to crawl through the forest. The four men had to travel through the woods and try to escape the imprisonment of the German soldiers. They were unlucky because they were always avoiding being killed by their enemies and they never knew their next move of defense. They always had unexpected events happen in their journey. Sometimes soldiers would come and take all of their defense and leave them empty handed. But no matter what happens to them, they always persevered and head toward their freedom!
     
       The simile used by Vonnegut can compare to our daily lives. Just as the characters in the story, we all have our struggles in our daily lives. We are all unlucky with certain situations and struggles that we experience throughout our daily lives. Sometimes we feel as though we are "crawling through a forest" of struggles in our lives. Sometimes we feel like there is no escaping some of these struggles. Just as we have our inescapable troubles, the soldiers also have theirs. Some of them include avoiding Germans, finding food and water, and just surviving. No matter how hard we try and escape these struggles, sometimes they just keep coming back! Again and again. Sometimes we know they are coming and other times they are very unexpected! Just like in the story when their equipment is taken away, sometimes we feel as though a part of us has been lost throughout these struggles. Sometimes these struggles even take people away from us. We have to carry our struggles with us and persevere, just like the four men in the story!

Chapter 1 No Looking Back

     At the end of Chapter 1, Vonnegut talks about not looking back at the past, but looking into the future. "People aren't suppose to look back. I am certainly not doing it anymore." The quote from Slaughterhouse-five made me think of the song "No Looking Back" by Damita Haddon. Her song is all about embracing her future and leaving the past behind. Billy Pilgrim has finally finished his anti-war book and is now embracing his new challenge. "I have finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun." Billy Pilgrim is ready to forget about the part of his life that has consumed his life, while he was writing his book. Billy is ready to embrace his future and whatever is instore for him.
     Damita Haddon's song "No Looking Back" is similar to what Billy is going through right now. She has decided to leave the past behind her. "I made up my mind- theres no turning back-the past is behind me- theres no looking back" Just as Billy has decided to put his past behind him, so is Damita Haddon. She has decided to embrace her future in the lyrics of "I'm looking forward not behind." She, as well as Billy, sees the bright future that is ahead of her. "I can see the sun breaking through the clouds." Damita is leaving the past behind her and embracing the new life that is to come ahead of her.
      We also can relate to what is going on in Slaughterhouse-five right now. We all have parts of our past that we would like to forget about, so we need to have the same mind set as Billy and Damita. We all have a great life ahead of us and we need to look toward the future. We need to forget about our past and embrace our future. Look ahead instead of behind!