Slaughterhouse-Five tells us the story of Billy Pilgrim, a nobody who survived the horrific bombing of Dresden in Germany. Billy is constantly re-living fragments of his life, always being transported back and forth, back and forth. In fact, he once said that he has a constant feeling of stage fright, as he never knows which part of his life he will have to perform again. He has experienced his birth and death over and over again, but perhaps the most interesting part about Billy is his relations with the Tralfamadorians, an alien race that lives in fourth dimension. They abduct Billy the night of his daughter’s wedding, but, he is not missed, as his months on Tralfamadore are mere seconds to Earthlings.
What could this book possibly be about? Well, to begin, it gives us a glimpse of insight into the mystery of time and human perception. The book suggests that free will is merely a human fallacy, and that everything that occurs in life always has happened and always will happen. It is merely our perception that one event occurs chronologically after another, but, in reality, everything just is. Thus, the Tralfamadorian saying, “So it goes.”
Is Kurt Vonnegut actually suggesting that this is truth? Possibly. Or, maybe he is just using this time perception thing a device to demonstrate a more simple idea. Perhaps, dare I say it, he gives us the meaning of life. But, I’ll get to that in a second.
One of the smartest things I ever read (maybe I saw it, I don’t know exactly where it comes from - if anybody knows, I’d appreciate it if you told me) was that the meaning of life was 42. That was it. Just the number 42. The author, of course, was not suggesting that the meaning of life actually was 42, but instead that there is no way for a human mind to comprehend the concept. Think of it like this: there are probably hundreds and hundreds of other intelligent life forms out there, somewhere, and we are, just by chance, probably not the most intelligent. So, if we aren’t the most intelligent, how could we possibly think that if it were presented before us, we could understand the purpose of our existence? There’s just no way. So, what we must do is simplify it into something we can understand, something we can appreciate. The film AMERICAN BEAUTY suggests that we should just have fun with the life we are given, and find happiness in whatever way possible. And, in a way, that really is as close as humans can get to understanding the meaning of life.
Kurt Vonnegut also says this, and puts it quite bluntly. Like Billy Pilgrim, we are constantly re-visiting moments in our lives, trying to find meaning, some deep understanding, when it’s really as simple as just having fun. It’s like THE WIZARD OF OZ, where Dorothy could have returned to Kansas whenever she wanted, but she wasn’t emotionally mature yet (because, really, THE WIZARD OF OZ is about growing up and accepting responsibility, not about flying monkeys and magical lands). In fact, twice in the book, the theme is just thrown in.
And now I give you the life according to Vonnegut:
"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.”
In Layman’s terms: don’t worry so much, change the things you can, and don’t worry about the things you can’t. We spend too much time worrying about things we’ve done, when, like Vonnegut says, we really should just focus on the happy moments in our lives. I think by the end of the novel Billy Pilgrim finally realizes this.
But that’s not it. Almost in opposition to the primary theme is a underlying anti-war message. But, unlike other anti-war books, Vonnegut openly admits that war is inevitable, and that it cannot be stopped. He says that writing an anti-war book is just as useful as writing an anti-glacier books. No matter what you do, there will always be war. And glaciers. Once again:
"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.”
Well, perhaps not God, but Kurt Vonnegut definitely grants me the serenity to accept the fact that I cannot change war. Blame it all you want on movies, television shows, video games, and Eminem, but the fact is that violence is a human instinct, it always has existed, and always will.
But I’m still not done. Unlike many other social commentaries, or books with deep messages, Vonnegut still manages to tell a great story with fantastic characters. My favorite, without a doubt, was Billy Pilgrim’s author friend, Kilgore Trout. It is interesting to note that while this was almost definitely pure coincidence, Trout is almost identical to the infamous Ed Wood. Trout can come up with amazing, insightful premises, but, he lacks the skill as a writer to translate these ideas into good novels. Similarly, Ed Wood has a brilliant mind, but lacks the skills as a filmmaker, thus only communicating with a small, loyal fan base. Sadly, this fan base did not exist until many years after his death.
I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. Regrettably, I’m not much of a reader, but I’ve managed to overcome this when reading Slaughterhouse-Five. I first read it about a month ago, then re-read it last week.
It really is that good.
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