As you can see in the graphic below, Slaughterhouse Five is not written in chronological order: its events are structured to reflect the effects of World War II and tragedy on Billy Pilgrim, who narrates the story based on wherever he finds himself in time. Pilgrim's illusion of time-travel serves to exemplify the negative effects of war and violence on people.
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Billy Pilgrim's narrative opens with this bold statement:
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"Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time." |
Billy Pilgrim believes that he can travel in time to different points in his life against his will after being abducted by aliens who know the true nature of time. These aliens (called Tralfamadorians) teach Billy that "all moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, [and] always will exist" and that "it is just an illusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one...and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever." (27) However, evidence presented by the book prove that all of Billy's ideas of time travel are a result of war-induced PTSD and an exposure to science-fiction novels containing pieces of the fantasy Billy invents for himself. Unable to deal with his own painful memories, Billy invents this idea of time travel and impermanence to make sense of the incomprehensible slaughter he was forced to witness while he served as a soldier.
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Written by Elizabeth Fleming