We've debated in our discussions of Slaughterhouse-Five about the Billy's character. He's definitely not the stereotypical war hero, dashing out gallantly to defeat enemies and save the day. Nope, wishy-washy "so it goes" Billy Pilgrim is the complete opposite of that. He doesn't even try to save his life - he even gives snipers a second shot since they missed the first one. But is Billy a plain idiot, or is he actually an enlightened human being that manages to see the true beauty of the world?
There are many references to the Bible in Billy's story. There's the whole thing with the captain's shiny golden boots, in which Billy sees Adam and Eve, the symbols of mankind's lost essential innocence, and the androgynous pretty German boy, who is referred to as "a blond angel." Also, after Billy gets pushed into a shrub for the sake of a reenactment of the capture of the Americans, he keeps seeing something like St Elmo's fire around everyone's head, like a halo of light. And Billy seems to be a sincerely nice person - after all, he wants to share the news of the Tralfamadorians with everyone, to share their opinions of death and time, that because people will always be alive at some point, you don't have to be too sad when they die. Perhaps Billy sees the world through a purer lens (because of the Tralfamadorian influence?) and is able to kick back and enjoy the world since he already know what is happening has always happened and always will happen, no matter what he does. So while everyone around him is worrying about their fate, Billy can enjoy the little things in life and just float along, letting life take him where it wants to go.
Which really, really, ticks off everyone, since they're trying to survive while this bumbling fool is just enjoying the scenery, not caring if he dies or not.
Furthermore, Billy's last name, Pilgrim, could suggest a march to find a spiritual end. And there's also how Billy even got involved with the war. He was supposed to be a chaplain's assistant, which is a religious job.
What are your opinions? Is Billy a plain idiot, overly influenced by his time on Tralfamador (or his imagination - does Tralfamador only exist in Billy's mind?), or has he managed to transcend to a different plain of existence in comparison to his human counterparts and see things in a new light?
Billy may not be an idiot, but he may also not be enlightened. Mentioned early on is that Billy always has stage fright, because he never knows what point in his life he will have to act in next. The strange thing about his life, if we assume Tralfamadore is real, is that Billy has gained "enlightenment" about what will happen to everyone else, but he still doesn't know what will happen to him next. He lives in a different kind of time, not fearing death or the war, because he knows his death. Instead, he has to fear knowing the horrible moments of his life without knowing which ones he will have to relive one second later.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good post! I think it's interesting that Vonnegut emphasizes Billy's religiousness. While I can see how this could make him more "enlightened," I struggle with his not being able to fully acknowledge the human cost of the war. I would expect a religious person to think more than "so it goes" after the death of a person. Your last sentence reminded me of JP Morgan a bit (what is the point of being above everybody else if nobody can see from your perspective?). Maybe Billy's enlightened, but it's not helping anyone else but him.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Vonnegut emphasizes Billy's religion when that worldview seems to clash with the one held by the Tralfamadorians. In most religious traditions, death is not simply a "so it goes" kind of thing. Death itself is also portrayed differently. Instead of dying and going to heaven or hell as in the Christian tradition, death is simply a part of the larger landscape--a state one can experience as part of their life. I'm not quite sure what Vonnegut is doing with these contrasts. Perhaps he's showing that after everything Billy's experienced, a more detached view of death was the only way he could cope.
ReplyDeleteI certainly view Tralfamador as a way for Billy to cope with his PTSD and through that I find the fact that he tries to share what gets him through the day with other people, even after being rebuffed before gets him a lot of credit. I think in many ways it is very noble of him to try to show people how he has come to terms with the world, even if how he goes about it totally wrong.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Billy is an idiot (at least with regards to his Tralfamadorian experience and how he goes about telling others, he kind of acted like an idiot during the war). As you said, the fact that Billy was originally a chaplain's assistant and his last name is Pilgrim I think gives us clues on why he goes about telling others about Tralfamador. While he kind of has rejected his original Christian worldview, he is preaching his good news of Tralfamador in a sort of evangelical manner.
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