In this novel by Jonathan Swift the concept of an ideological paradise, or a Utopia, is clearly reflected through the attitude that the protagonist has toward his species. A Utopia is an impossible thing to achieve in a society (even more if it is composed by humans), however it can be achieved in a person’s mind. Gulliver is a perfect case of what an individual utopia would be. Well, he believes that the country of the Houyhnhnms is perfect, due to the fact that everybody fully completes and follows a social contract in order to live in harmony. He even states that the word evil doesn’t even exist in the Houyhnhnm’s dictionary, “I know whether it may be worth observing, that the Houyhnhnms have no Word in their Language to express any thing that is Evil, except what they borrow from the Deformities or ill Qualities of the Yahoos.” (Swift 4). However, I strongly disagree with Gulliver’s utopist view about his loving country (although not native), since the Houyhnhnms hold him as a slave, they treat him as a inferior race, and even take from him the right to act freely: “I had the Favour of being admitted to several Houyhnhnms, who came to visit or dine with my Master; where his Honour graciously suffered me to wait in the Room…” (Swift 5). In my opinion the Houyhnhnms’ land is far from being a utopia, since it doesn’t conserve any kind of equality with other races. And yeah, they may live in peace, but this doesn’t mean it is a utopia, and if this is considered a utopia, then Norway, and any peaceful country is a utopia, don you think?
Gulliver also criticizes the barbarous ways in which the Yahoo’s submitted to their will their conquered nations. “And this execrable Crew of Butchers employed so pious an Expedition, is a modern Colony sent to convert and civilize and idolatrous and barbarous People.” (Swift 17). This is a completely ironic statement made by Gulliver, or didn’t the Houyhnhnms hunted down in a savage way the Yahoo’s, and then kept their babies to use them as slaves? Isn’t this inhumane, and “Yahoo” like? “That the Houyhnhnms to get rid of this Evil, made a general Hunting, and at last enclosed the whole Herd; and destroying the old Ones, every Houyhnhnm kept two young Ones in a Kennel, and brought them to such degree of Tameness, as an Animal so savage by Nature can be capable of acquiring; using them for Draught and Carriage.” (Swift 1).
I found very awkward the way in which Gulliver after only being three years away from his country of birth, he gathered so much hatred towards the ones of his own species. This event reminded me of Tarzan, who instead of feeling a certain repugnancy over his own species. He felt a certain attraction towards finding out more about himself and the Homo sapiens. Then, when Gulliver was home, he insisted and desperately tried to keep the Houyhnhnms traditions and costumes intact in his mind, reason for why he tried to impose these costumes on his family. However, Gulliver by blindly trying to seek his life as a “Houyhnhnm”, he basically creates a regime in his house where he “enslaved” his own family, to the point that he even prohibited them to be near him. “I began last Week to permit my Wife to sit at Dinner with me, at the farthest End of a long Table…” (Swift 18).
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 182-215)
(Mr. Tangen, I’m sorry to inform you that the article you requested us to talk about in this blog was unable to be open by my computer. It said that the page was temporarily unavailable).
Throughout the ending of this antiwar book, a finally realized the symbolic meaning of Billy’s squalid figure, and Valencia’s overwhelming shape and weight. In my opinion, Billy’s physical shape resembles the condition in which the world was in during the outbreak of World War II, and during its time being. The world powers, such as Britain, Russia, France and mostly Germany, got completely drained by the demands that the Second World War brought to each country. During the fighting of this war, every European country that participated in the war got to the pitiful state which Billy was constantly in. In the other hand, Valencia represents the war itself, which, although it could be handled by Billy, it was very big and unwanted, just like WWII. Billy’s plain crash then means the rather abrupt ending of the war (reason why Valencia died so quick). Finally, after Billy’s plain crash, his lament full sate was a metaphor of the condition in which the European powers and the world, was left after the ending of WWII. People, which is resembled by Rumfoord (Billy’s hospital roommate), thinks that humanity would never recover from such crisis; however through time they do, just like Billy’s case.
I also noticed as I ended this book, the Kilgore Trout was in fact Vonnegut’s character and thoughts reflected through Kilgore Trout. Well, they seem to have “identical” characteristics. Just like Vonnegut, Trout isn’t a very successful author; however, in the end, Trout’s books are displayed in a bookstore’s frontal window. This book, is about a couple of Earthling’s kidnapped by some aliens, and then displayed in a zoo, event which is very similar to what happened with Billy and Montana Wildhack in Tralfamadore. “The name of the book was The Big Board. He got a few paragraphs into it, and then he realized that he had read it before—years ago, in the veterans’ hospital. It was about an Earthling man and woman who were kidnapped by extra-terrestrials. They were put on display in a zoo on a planet called Zircon-212.” (Vonnegut 201).
Finally, I really liked the ending of this book, since it gives it a Tralfamadorian touch. It leaves the reader thinking in a Tralfamdorian way, which is, that there is no specific chronology between events. This book keeps you seeing this story as I imagine a Tralfamadorian seeing it, with no specific fourth dimension.
Throughout the ending of this antiwar book, a finally realized the symbolic meaning of Billy’s squalid figure, and Valencia’s overwhelming shape and weight. In my opinion, Billy’s physical shape resembles the condition in which the world was in during the outbreak of World War II, and during its time being. The world powers, such as Britain, Russia, France and mostly Germany, got completely drained by the demands that the Second World War brought to each country. During the fighting of this war, every European country that participated in the war got to the pitiful state which Billy was constantly in. In the other hand, Valencia represents the war itself, which, although it could be handled by Billy, it was very big and unwanted, just like WWII. Billy’s plain crash then means the rather abrupt ending of the war (reason why Valencia died so quick). Finally, after Billy’s plain crash, his lament full sate was a metaphor of the condition in which the European powers and the world, was left after the ending of WWII. People, which is resembled by Rumfoord (Billy’s hospital roommate), thinks that humanity would never recover from such crisis; however through time they do, just like Billy’s case.
I also noticed as I ended this book, the Kilgore Trout was in fact Vonnegut’s character and thoughts reflected through Kilgore Trout. Well, they seem to have “identical” characteristics. Just like Vonnegut, Trout isn’t a very successful author; however, in the end, Trout’s books are displayed in a bookstore’s frontal window. This book, is about a couple of Earthling’s kidnapped by some aliens, and then displayed in a zoo, event which is very similar to what happened with Billy and Montana Wildhack in Tralfamadore. “The name of the book was The Big Board. He got a few paragraphs into it, and then he realized that he had read it before—years ago, in the veterans’ hospital. It was about an Earthling man and woman who were kidnapped by extra-terrestrials. They were put on display in a zoo on a planet called Zircon-212.” (Vonnegut 201).
Finally, I really liked the ending of this book, since it gives it a Tralfamadorian touch. It leaves the reader thinking in a Tralfamdorian way, which is, that there is no specific chronology between events. This book keeps you seeing this story as I imagine a Tralfamadorian seeing it, with no specific fourth dimension.
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 153-182)
Kilgore Trout is a very influential and important character in Vonnegut’s book, since he is used as a mediator by the author to express and most of the times mock the American society throughout his book. For example, Kilgore Trout’s book Gutless Wonder is a parody of an army of robots that weren’t accepted in society, not by the fact that they lacked a conscious, but because they had a terrible halitosis. “Trout’s leading robot looked like a human being, and could talk and dance and so on, and go out with girls. And nobody held it against him that he dropped jellied gasoline on people. But they found his halitosis unforgivable. But then he cleared that up, and he was welcomed to the human race.” (Vonnegut 168). The robots are basically a metaphor of the North American soldiers that savagely threw napalm on the Vietnamese during the war of Vietnam, and then felt as if they were doing the right thing. Vonnegut attacks the uncivilized behavior of the Americans comparing them with steel robots who were incapable to feel any emotion such as merci; however, that isn’t Vonnegut strongest attack, the author emphasizes more on the fact that the United States civilians instead of discriminating the U.S. soldiers for their merciless frenzies, they are rejected due to the fact that they have bad breath. Bad breath is a simple, and rather common, condition of the human beings, but the lack of feelings isn’t a common condition in people.
Once again Kilgore Trout is used by Vonnegut as the way to mock society, and, in this particular case, to mock the Christians.
That’s right. And I’m not the only one who’s listening. God is listening, too. And on Judgment Day he’s gong to tell you all the things you said and did. If it turns out they’re bat this instead of good things, that’s too bad for you, because you’ll burn forever and ever. The burning never stops hurting.
Poor Maggie turned gray. She believed that, too, and was petrified.
Kilgore Trout laughed uproariously. (Vonnegut 172).
In this excerpt, Kilgore literally laughs on Maggie’s face for believing the lies he had just said, which in fact, are the believes of all medieval Christians, and some in the present.
“… as though you all of a sudden realized you were standing on thin air.” (Vonnegut 175). This quote reflects mankind, or any living thing for that matter. We are always standing on the thin air of life, which will eventually fall at any time, and bring us our sudden death. Humans, for the simple fact that they rely heavily in other things, will always be on thin air, since the thing they depend on, depend on another things (and so on) causing a chain reaction if one fails. For example, Colombian industry relies on the price of the dollar, which varies depending on the global consumption of people. This implies that if the people acquire, for any given reason, many dollars, then the price of this currency will fall, causing as a direct action the bankruptcy of the Colombian industries, and so on and so forth.
In contrast to the mockery that Vonnegut handles against the United States society, Vonnegut places the German society in a very high and noble place, making it seem as if they were almost heavenly. “The blind innkeeper said that the Americans could sleep in his stable that night, and he gave them soup and ersatz coffee and a little beer. Then he came out to the stable to listen to them bedding down in the straw.” (Vonnegut 181). Here, the quote clearly implies that the Germans treat the Americans, although they have recently demolished Dresden, with respect and tolerance. This German behavior can also be seen throughout the book, in the ways the American prisoners of war are treated by the Germans (relatively good).
Once again Kilgore Trout is used by Vonnegut as the way to mock society, and, in this particular case, to mock the Christians.
That’s right. And I’m not the only one who’s listening. God is listening, too. And on Judgment Day he’s gong to tell you all the things you said and did. If it turns out they’re bat this instead of good things, that’s too bad for you, because you’ll burn forever and ever. The burning never stops hurting.
Poor Maggie turned gray. She believed that, too, and was petrified.
Kilgore Trout laughed uproariously. (Vonnegut 172).
In this excerpt, Kilgore literally laughs on Maggie’s face for believing the lies he had just said, which in fact, are the believes of all medieval Christians, and some in the present.
“… as though you all of a sudden realized you were standing on thin air.” (Vonnegut 175). This quote reflects mankind, or any living thing for that matter. We are always standing on the thin air of life, which will eventually fall at any time, and bring us our sudden death. Humans, for the simple fact that they rely heavily in other things, will always be on thin air, since the thing they depend on, depend on another things (and so on) causing a chain reaction if one fails. For example, Colombian industry relies on the price of the dollar, which varies depending on the global consumption of people. This implies that if the people acquire, for any given reason, many dollars, then the price of this currency will fall, causing as a direct action the bankruptcy of the Colombian industries, and so on and so forth.
In contrast to the mockery that Vonnegut handles against the United States society, Vonnegut places the German society in a very high and noble place, making it seem as if they were almost heavenly. “The blind innkeeper said that the Americans could sleep in his stable that night, and he gave them soup and ersatz coffee and a little beer. Then he came out to the stable to listen to them bedding down in the straw.” (Vonnegut 181). Here, the quote clearly implies that the Germans treat the Americans, although they have recently demolished Dresden, with respect and tolerance. This German behavior can also be seen throughout the book, in the ways the American prisoners of war are treated by the Germans (relatively good).
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 136-153)
He found two small sources, two lumps an inch apart and
hidden in the lining. One was shaped like a
pea. The other was shaped like a tiny horseshoe. Billy
received a message carried by the radiations. He was
told not to find out what the lumps were. He was advised
to be content with knowing that they could work
miracles for him, provided he did not insist on learning their nature. That was all right with Billy Pilgrim. He was grateful. He was glad (Vonnegut 137)
In this excerpt, I find it quite interesting why did Billy, after having received this message, insisted in looking at the objects, and even worse, showing them to a random doctor who was scolding him. Why him? Why the doctor, or any other man for that matter? Did Billy sense a connection with the doctor strong enough to make him reveal, and disobey the explicit message received at the hospital through radiations, the mystery of the object in his muff? Also, Billy nearly foresees every important event in his life, from the saucer abduction, to the future of his marriage, so why in the world was in incapable of foreseeing what the horseshoe object was? And even more surprisingly, this horseshoe object turned out to be his engagement ring, which seals his matrimony with Valencia.
Lazzaro, I read this name and remembered the Bible, I remembered the story I read in the King James Bible about a dying person who, thanks to Jesus Christ, is miracously cured and saved from the disease that threatened his life. In the book Lazzaro is a car thief who constantly seeks revenge, a feeling which basically creates a chain reaction of violence. "Anybody ever asks you what the sweetest thing in life is - said Lazzaro, it's revenge." (Vonnegut 139). With this said I thought of Vonnegut making Lazzaro as a figure to mock the Bible, and Christianity by that matter, since it means that Jesus is so Merciful that he gave life to a killer, which in fact is going to take the life of many, making, indirectly though, Jesus a killer. Why, Why does Vonnegut have to disrespect Christianity (if my interpretation is really the message the author wanted the reader to get)?
Then I encountered another attempt made by Vonnegut to insult Christianity, which made me think, that this book is in fact a mockery of the world we live in. Vonnegut criticizes war, which is now considered almost a natural state for humans, vengeance, the world's religion, the world's leading nation (its gilded society), etc. "It is time for you to go home to your wives and children, and it is time for me to be dead for a little while - and then live again." (Vonnegut 143). This view of death is the perspective that the Tralfamadorians gave Billy, which, I now interpreted as a way to mock the belief of resurrection that Christians have. Basically, the fact that everybody thinks that Billy is crazy when he states what he believes about death, which is basically what Christians believe about death, suggests that the author finds it not only untrue, but crazy. Also, the fact that Billy shows this belief throughout the book, suggests that this book is rather an inconspicuous way to mock the world's religion.
"Billy and Lazzaro and Derby didn't have to ask what the line meant. It was a familiar symbol from childhood." (Vonnegut 144). Once again we find Vonnegut criticizing the American society which, although it wasn't the only one, experienced one of the worst cases of segregation due to racism and ethnic issues; however, unlike the other criticisms, I do agree in this one with the author.
Although, this chapter may be filled with hints of the perspective that Vonnegut has about society, which in fact may be insulting to many (reason why they banned this book in many schools from the U.S.) it is a very important chapter not only for the facts mentioned in this blog, but because it marks the transition from the prison, to the famous Dresden, and the Slaughterhouse - Five for that matter.
hidden in the lining. One was shaped like a
pea. The other was shaped like a tiny horseshoe. Billy
received a message carried by the radiations. He was
told not to find out what the lumps were. He was advised
to be content with knowing that they could work
miracles for him, provided he did not insist on learning their nature. That was all right with Billy Pilgrim. He was grateful. He was glad (Vonnegut 137)
In this excerpt, I find it quite interesting why did Billy, after having received this message, insisted in looking at the objects, and even worse, showing them to a random doctor who was scolding him. Why him? Why the doctor, or any other man for that matter? Did Billy sense a connection with the doctor strong enough to make him reveal, and disobey the explicit message received at the hospital through radiations, the mystery of the object in his muff? Also, Billy nearly foresees every important event in his life, from the saucer abduction, to the future of his marriage, so why in the world was in incapable of foreseeing what the horseshoe object was? And even more surprisingly, this horseshoe object turned out to be his engagement ring, which seals his matrimony with Valencia.
Lazzaro, I read this name and remembered the Bible, I remembered the story I read in the King James Bible about a dying person who, thanks to Jesus Christ, is miracously cured and saved from the disease that threatened his life. In the book Lazzaro is a car thief who constantly seeks revenge, a feeling which basically creates a chain reaction of violence. "Anybody ever asks you what the sweetest thing in life is - said Lazzaro, it's revenge." (Vonnegut 139). With this said I thought of Vonnegut making Lazzaro as a figure to mock the Bible, and Christianity by that matter, since it means that Jesus is so Merciful that he gave life to a killer, which in fact is going to take the life of many, making, indirectly though, Jesus a killer. Why, Why does Vonnegut have to disrespect Christianity (if my interpretation is really the message the author wanted the reader to get)?
Then I encountered another attempt made by Vonnegut to insult Christianity, which made me think, that this book is in fact a mockery of the world we live in. Vonnegut criticizes war, which is now considered almost a natural state for humans, vengeance, the world's religion, the world's leading nation (its gilded society), etc. "It is time for you to go home to your wives and children, and it is time for me to be dead for a little while - and then live again." (Vonnegut 143). This view of death is the perspective that the Tralfamadorians gave Billy, which, I now interpreted as a way to mock the belief of resurrection that Christians have. Basically, the fact that everybody thinks that Billy is crazy when he states what he believes about death, which is basically what Christians believe about death, suggests that the author finds it not only untrue, but crazy. Also, the fact that Billy shows this belief throughout the book, suggests that this book is rather an inconspicuous way to mock the world's religion.
"Billy and Lazzaro and Derby didn't have to ask what the line meant. It was a familiar symbol from childhood." (Vonnegut 144). Once again we find Vonnegut criticizing the American society which, although it wasn't the only one, experienced one of the worst cases of segregation due to racism and ethnic issues; however, unlike the other criticisms, I do agree in this one with the author.
Although, this chapter may be filled with hints of the perspective that Vonnegut has about society, which in fact may be insulting to many (reason why they banned this book in many schools from the U.S.) it is a very important chapter not only for the facts mentioned in this blog, but because it marks the transition from the prison, to the famous Dresden, and the Slaughterhouse - Five for that matter.
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 119-136)
“It was a simple-minded thing for a female Earthling to do, to associate sex and glamour with war.” (Vonnegut 121). It is weird how the author of this book makes this association, a female Earthling with war, why, does he think that women are incapable of seeing the true nature of war, since they may look at war as a glorious thing for their half orange to do? Or does this sentence mean that women have a stereotypic perspective towards soldiers being good in bed. Also, the author uses the word Earthling instead of using human to describe the females in Earth. Is it that the author wants the reader to realize that war is getting so common to us Earthlings that women, and maybe some men, are starting to relate it to good and pleasant things such as being a good lover, or even husband?
The word “secret” showed up through these pages, catching my attention, since a secret means many important things in human nature. A secret may be a symbol of the amount of trust one person has towards another, to the amount a person is “worth” to other people. A secret is indeed a very controversial thing since it may, and probably will, hurt many people or things when revealed. For example, if I hold the secret towards having eternal life, my life is priceless, but as soon as I let go of that secret I held within me, I abruptly stop form being a priceless human being, to being a simple and common nobody who just happens to know the secret towards eternal life, as well as other human beings. A secret is similar to the price of the global currency (dollar), when many dollars are circulating in the international market, its value falls in contrast to the value it would have if there would be few dollars in the world.
Another sentence caught my attention as I was reading this book, “He suddenly found a door, which opened, let him reel out into the prison night.” (Vonnegut 123). Notice that Vonnegut explicitly related the night, to being a prison, since he didn’t use a possessive noun when talking about the prison. This made me think about the obstacles and fears that the darkness has struck on humans, making the night our captor, and us their prisoners (since we are unable to see at night).
Poverty in the American society then shows up, “America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves.” (Vonnegut 128). I though of this monogram held by the German friend of the British as a criticism the author makes towards the United States economic wealth as a nation in contrast with the wealth that its inhabitants have (morally and economically). This criticism may be an attack that Vonnegut makes toward the savage capitalism that is held in the U.S. which make few prosper, and many live in the wilderness. It may also be interpreted as how capitalism creates a gilded nation, were its foreign affairs are booming, while its people are rottening beneath the greedy hands of the wealthy capitalists who build their wealth in the labor the poor. I personally think that if this is what Vonnegut thinks, I disagree, since the poor are also having something in return for their labor. The only thing a capitalistic economy really affects the poor on is in the lack of opportunities of them rising in their economic status in small amounts of time.
A question then came to my mind about the time traveling that Billy experiences in this book. Well, the fact that he had a wet dream about Montana Wildhack: “He had had a wet dream about Montana Wildhack.” (Vonnegut 134), suggests that Billy’s time travels may be a simple illusion he has of he premeditating a future he has already lived. For example, he predicts that the teacher Edgar Derby is going to die soon in the war; however, this may be a dream he mistakes with the reality he lived some years earlier, making him think he is in fact time traveling. And the Tralfamadorians may simply be an explanation his mind made up to convince Billy that he is time traveling.
The word “secret” showed up through these pages, catching my attention, since a secret means many important things in human nature. A secret may be a symbol of the amount of trust one person has towards another, to the amount a person is “worth” to other people. A secret is indeed a very controversial thing since it may, and probably will, hurt many people or things when revealed. For example, if I hold the secret towards having eternal life, my life is priceless, but as soon as I let go of that secret I held within me, I abruptly stop form being a priceless human being, to being a simple and common nobody who just happens to know the secret towards eternal life, as well as other human beings. A secret is similar to the price of the global currency (dollar), when many dollars are circulating in the international market, its value falls in contrast to the value it would have if there would be few dollars in the world.
Another sentence caught my attention as I was reading this book, “He suddenly found a door, which opened, let him reel out into the prison night.” (Vonnegut 123). Notice that Vonnegut explicitly related the night, to being a prison, since he didn’t use a possessive noun when talking about the prison. This made me think about the obstacles and fears that the darkness has struck on humans, making the night our captor, and us their prisoners (since we are unable to see at night).
Poverty in the American society then shows up, “America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves.” (Vonnegut 128). I though of this monogram held by the German friend of the British as a criticism the author makes towards the United States economic wealth as a nation in contrast with the wealth that its inhabitants have (morally and economically). This criticism may be an attack that Vonnegut makes toward the savage capitalism that is held in the U.S. which make few prosper, and many live in the wilderness. It may also be interpreted as how capitalism creates a gilded nation, were its foreign affairs are booming, while its people are rottening beneath the greedy hands of the wealthy capitalists who build their wealth in the labor the poor. I personally think that if this is what Vonnegut thinks, I disagree, since the poor are also having something in return for their labor. The only thing a capitalistic economy really affects the poor on is in the lack of opportunities of them rising in their economic status in small amounts of time.
A question then came to my mind about the time traveling that Billy experiences in this book. Well, the fact that he had a wet dream about Montana Wildhack: “He had had a wet dream about Montana Wildhack.” (Vonnegut 134), suggests that Billy’s time travels may be a simple illusion he has of he premeditating a future he has already lived. For example, he predicts that the teacher Edgar Derby is going to die soon in the war; however, this may be a dream he mistakes with the reality he lived some years earlier, making him think he is in fact time traveling. And the Tralfamadorians may simply be an explanation his mind made up to convince Billy that he is time traveling.
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 96 - 119)
These 23 pages are by far the craziest pages I have evere read in this book. Just during the first two pages, the author describes the situation which the English prisoners of war are in. They are by far the best fed and musculant bodies from all World War II. "The Englishmen were clean and enthusiastic and decent and strong. They sang boomingly well. They had been singing together every night for years. The Englishmen had also been lifting weights and chinning themselves for years. Their bellies were like washboards. The muscles of their calves and upper arms were like cannonballs. They were all masters of dominoes and anagrams and charades and Ping- Pong and billieards, as well." (Vonnegut 94). Although this quote doesn't fall in the page span of my title, it is by far the best quote that describes the Englishmen, and their conditions, in the German prison. The conditions the Englishmen were in were so much better than any Russian prisoner of war, that I had the impression that this may be, since Vonnegut was a prisoner of war, an illusion the author had when he saw the Englishmen in the German prison he was kept in. Well, comparing the conditions that these prisoners of war had with the rest of the prisoners of war, and the rest of the fighting soldiers of the World War II from both sides (axis, and allies), they are not only way better than any soldier of prisoner of war, but almost they almost seem imposible in the hell they were supposedly in. In books and movies, I had always been given the impression that the prisoners of war were unlucky men who would probably die just like the rest; however here, the Englishmen seemed as they owned the place. Maybe, as previously said, Vonnegut did have and illisuion about the apparent state of his English allies. Maybe they were in the same conditions as them, but in order to keep his moral high, he imagined them way beyond their state (much, much better).
In the interview Vonnegut states that the Bible for him was more of a master piece of literaure rather than a moral guide. Vonnegut is a atheist and he reflects this attitude pretty much in his novel Slaughter House -Five through its protagonist. Billy is in a hospital due to the fact that he has lost the meaning for life, he wants to stop living since life doesn't mean anything to him anymore. Usually, Christian believers, when they've lost the purpose of living, they rely on God, and his son Jesus to find another purpose of life. Their faith in the Holy Trinity keeps them alive, keeps them with hope; however, Billy doesn't show he believes in any superior being (excluding the Tralfamadorians) that looks upon him and his family. That is why Billy has such a hard time coming through his crisis, that is why Billy tries desperatly to reinvent his life using sci -fi books as his major help and probably inspiration since he is a atheist. "So they were trying to re-invent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a big help." (Vonnegut, 101). However, when Billy came through his crisis, he had a turning point in his life, he came into the hospital being a neive little child, to become a married adult, which instead of giving life up, he tries to look for its meaning, reason for why he looks for a solution to things while he travels through time.
In the interview Vonnegut states that the Bible for him was more of a master piece of literaure rather than a moral guide. Vonnegut is a atheist and he reflects this attitude pretty much in his novel Slaughter House -Five through its protagonist. Billy is in a hospital due to the fact that he has lost the meaning for life, he wants to stop living since life doesn't mean anything to him anymore. Usually, Christian believers, when they've lost the purpose of living, they rely on God, and his son Jesus to find another purpose of life. Their faith in the Holy Trinity keeps them alive, keeps them with hope; however, Billy doesn't show he believes in any superior being (excluding the Tralfamadorians) that looks upon him and his family. That is why Billy has such a hard time coming through his crisis, that is why Billy tries desperatly to reinvent his life using sci -fi books as his major help and probably inspiration since he is a atheist. "So they were trying to re-invent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a big help." (Vonnegut, 101). However, when Billy came through his crisis, he had a turning point in his life, he came into the hospital being a neive little child, to become a married adult, which instead of giving life up, he tries to look for its meaning, reason for why he looks for a solution to things while he travels through time.
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 72 - 96)
Again, I was reading through the novel and another situation about how Billy Pilgrim was uncapable of changing the future and the present came up. Well, why in the world will a person who is completely aware that a flying saucer is coming to get him, waits for the saucer and then goes near it? Although Billy migh have seen through his time traveling expiriences that the saucer was not harmful at all, it is just not human to accept the fact that he is going to be kidnapped by a UFO without making any resistance what so ever. Billy even waits for the suacer to come and get him, this is just crazy, I would be all paranoic and scared at the fact that I may never see the world and my family again! " Billy now shuffled down his upstairs hallway, knowing he was about to be kidnapped by a flying saucer." (Vonnegut 72). "He had an hour to kill before the saucer came. He went into the living room, swinging the bottle like a dinner bell, turned on the television." (Vonnegut 73). What the heck?! I just can't believe a person would do that. This event also reflects Billy' incapability of changing his premeditated destiny, as I have said in previous blogs, and will probably keep stating out.
Then, I kept on reading, and found, at last, the answer to my question: why can't Billy change his destiny if he can travel through it? The answer to this question was given to me by the Tralfamadorians, they stated that each moment is just there for no particular reason, their exactr answer was this: "Well,here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." (Vonnegut 77). With this little statement I finally proved what I had said in the past blogs about being useless traveling through time if you can't change the events you don't like, as explicitly said by the Tralfamadorian, "... trapped in the amber of this moment." (Vonnegut 77).
Free Will, I encountered this two historical words as I kept on reading, or I may say, the two words for which the United States of America has waged wars to defend. I was stunned when I read that from 31 inhabitaed planets in the universe the Earth is the only one who speeks of free will. "I've visited thirty - one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is thare any talk of free will." (Vonnegut 86). WOW! either we are blessed, or we have a misconception of free will since we can't see in 4-D. Either we have the false idea that we can choose our actions to have certain reprecussions in the future, while the truth is that everything is just meant to be the way we choose. Well, I, due to the fact that I'm a human being that can only see in 3-D, believe I can choose (free will) any decision of my life knowing the consequences it will probably bring. Maybe, since the aliens are more advanced than us, meaning that they can see in 4-D, they understand that everything is presettled, concept we humans can't grasp right now; however, there may be also the fact that we are more advanced than the aliens, cause for why we do have free will, since in page 76, when Billy is kidnapped, the author mentions that the Tralfamadorians take Billy's free will, meaning that, we may indeed have developed something the aliens haven't which is the liberty to choose. "Billy's will was paralyzed by a zap gun aimed at him from one of the portholes." (Vonnegut 76). Another reason why the Earthlings have free will, while the Tralfamadorians don't is because the only way to make a perfect world is by limiting people's, or in this case aliens', liberty of choice.
"Everybody told Billy Pilgrim to keep the hell away. So Billy Pilgrim had to sleep standing up, or not sleep at all. And food stopped coming in through the ventilators, and the days and nights were colder all the time." (Vonnegut 79). As soon as I read this I asked myself what happened to the Human Beings that were last time sharing and caring for each other? They became once again selfish, savage beast we are daily.
Then, I kept on reading, and found, at last, the answer to my question: why can't Billy change his destiny if he can travel through it? The answer to this question was given to me by the Tralfamadorians, they stated that each moment is just there for no particular reason, their exactr answer was this: "Well,here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." (Vonnegut 77). With this little statement I finally proved what I had said in the past blogs about being useless traveling through time if you can't change the events you don't like, as explicitly said by the Tralfamadorian, "... trapped in the amber of this moment." (Vonnegut 77).
Free Will, I encountered this two historical words as I kept on reading, or I may say, the two words for which the United States of America has waged wars to defend. I was stunned when I read that from 31 inhabitaed planets in the universe the Earth is the only one who speeks of free will. "I've visited thirty - one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is thare any talk of free will." (Vonnegut 86). WOW! either we are blessed, or we have a misconception of free will since we can't see in 4-D. Either we have the false idea that we can choose our actions to have certain reprecussions in the future, while the truth is that everything is just meant to be the way we choose. Well, I, due to the fact that I'm a human being that can only see in 3-D, believe I can choose (free will) any decision of my life knowing the consequences it will probably bring. Maybe, since the aliens are more advanced than us, meaning that they can see in 4-D, they understand that everything is presettled, concept we humans can't grasp right now; however, there may be also the fact that we are more advanced than the aliens, cause for why we do have free will, since in page 76, when Billy is kidnapped, the author mentions that the Tralfamadorians take Billy's free will, meaning that, we may indeed have developed something the aliens haven't which is the liberty to choose. "Billy's will was paralyzed by a zap gun aimed at him from one of the portholes." (Vonnegut 76). Another reason why the Earthlings have free will, while the Tralfamadorians don't is because the only way to make a perfect world is by limiting people's, or in this case aliens', liberty of choice.
"Everybody told Billy Pilgrim to keep the hell away. So Billy Pilgrim had to sleep standing up, or not sleep at all. And food stopped coming in through the ventilators, and the days and nights were colder all the time." (Vonnegut 79). As soon as I read this I asked myself what happened to the Human Beings that were last time sharing and caring for each other? They became once again selfish, savage beast we are daily.
Reading Blog: Slaughter House - Five (Pg. 52-71)
I started reading this chapter, and as soon as I got into page 55, where the narrator describes the condition in which the prisoners of war (pow) were kept, and he mentions the use of fire to keep them warm supplied to them by the Germans. "Billy and Weary were taken inside, where it was warm and smoky. There was a fire sizzling and popping in the fireplace." (Vonnegut, 55). I was impressed, because my view of a war and its prisoners of war obviosly were dull, cold, and inhumane. What movies and some text books tell me is that the "pow" died frecuently due to the cold and inhumane places where the Germans kept them which were similar to their concentration camps. Well, I have to be honest and accept the fact that if I were to capture the enemy, in my case a soldier form Las Farc", I would basically take out information from him, even if it means applying harsh punishments on him, and then I would dispose him since he would only be an extra burden; however, here, as I said before, the "pow's" were treated in a very "humane" way for being prisoners of war in the Second World War (before the declaration of Human Rights).
Now, I also noticed how Vonnegut expresses through his book the media manipulation that, although the viewers don't realize, happens. "He took pictures of Billy's and Roland Weary's feet. The picture was widely published two days later as heartening evidence of how miserably equipped the American Army often was, despite its reputation for being rich." (Vonnegut, 58). Here media manipulation was widely present due to the fact that the American Army was well equipped, but days before, when the Amercan prisoners of war were captured, the Germans had taken their supplies in exchange for theirs. This is the way how Vonnegut showed how the media in the world is manipulated constantly to make the public react in the way the person controlling the press wants the viewers to react.
I remember talking about the strange way Billy Pilgrim had become "unstuck" in time, well, as I read from page 52 to page 71, I became more convinced that Billy is in fact not stuck in the present, but he is still stuck in time. "Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future" (Vonnegut, 60). I Billy can't alter any of the past way which humans know time runs on, then it is basically useless being "unstuck in time, because Billy will still live his life the same way he would have lived it without knowing what is waiting for him, since he can't change the present, nor the future (as the quote so explains).
As I advanced in the novel, I realized another comparison the author, Kurt Vonnegut, had made with our world. Well, in page 68, the author mentions an American soldier who was previously a hobo telling Billy that he had not onlu been more hungry than they were then, but that he had been in an even worse place than the container they were now packed in. "I been hungrier than this, the hobo told Billy. I been in worse places than this. this ain't so bad." (Vonnegut, 68). How is ti that a human bieng is in a worse condition during his daily life than in a freezing weather inside a container with absolutley nothing to eat? It really shocked me the inequality we live in in this world. This statement also made me think, was Vonnegut a communist? Was he trying to show the reader the effects of savage capitalism? Maybe? I'd had to investigate further on the author of this great novel.
Finally, before I finished this cahpter, a couple of words capture my attention "Human Beings". Never before where this two particular words mentioned. And, as I read them I pictured in my mind what the typical behaviour of a good HUMAN BEING should be (which in fact is true, and if every person in the world were like this, we wouldn't have wars and poverty). "When food came in, the human beings were quiet and trusting and beautiful. The shared." (Vonnegut 70).
Now, I also noticed how Vonnegut expresses through his book the media manipulation that, although the viewers don't realize, happens. "He took pictures of Billy's and Roland Weary's feet. The picture was widely published two days later as heartening evidence of how miserably equipped the American Army often was, despite its reputation for being rich." (Vonnegut, 58). Here media manipulation was widely present due to the fact that the American Army was well equipped, but days before, when the Amercan prisoners of war were captured, the Germans had taken their supplies in exchange for theirs. This is the way how Vonnegut showed how the media in the world is manipulated constantly to make the public react in the way the person controlling the press wants the viewers to react.
I remember talking about the strange way Billy Pilgrim had become "unstuck" in time, well, as I read from page 52 to page 71, I became more convinced that Billy is in fact not stuck in the present, but he is still stuck in time. "Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future" (Vonnegut, 60). I Billy can't alter any of the past way which humans know time runs on, then it is basically useless being "unstuck in time, because Billy will still live his life the same way he would have lived it without knowing what is waiting for him, since he can't change the present, nor the future (as the quote so explains).
As I advanced in the novel, I realized another comparison the author, Kurt Vonnegut, had made with our world. Well, in page 68, the author mentions an American soldier who was previously a hobo telling Billy that he had not onlu been more hungry than they were then, but that he had been in an even worse place than the container they were now packed in. "I been hungrier than this, the hobo told Billy. I been in worse places than this. this ain't so bad." (Vonnegut, 68). How is ti that a human bieng is in a worse condition during his daily life than in a freezing weather inside a container with absolutley nothing to eat? It really shocked me the inequality we live in in this world. This statement also made me think, was Vonnegut a communist? Was he trying to show the reader the effects of savage capitalism? Maybe? I'd had to investigate further on the author of this great novel.
Finally, before I finished this cahpter, a couple of words capture my attention "Human Beings". Never before where this two particular words mentioned. And, as I read them I pictured in my mind what the typical behaviour of a good HUMAN BEING should be (which in fact is true, and if every person in the world were like this, we wouldn't have wars and poverty). "When food came in, the human beings were quiet and trusting and beautiful. The shared." (Vonnegut 70).
Reading Blog: Slaughter House Five (pg 23-51)
"Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time" ( Vonnegut, 23), interesting way to start a chapter. Although, when I first read this I though to myself that being unstuck in time meant being able to control time, and the flow of events; however, with Billy Pilgrim, as I read, was different, since he was really stil "stuck" in time, but with the slight defference that he could travel through it. Well yeah, maybe the fact that you can travel through the past the present, and the future may be to some people to be "unstuck" in time; however, in my perspective I see Billy Pilgrim still "stuck" in time, since he can't control his actions or events while he is traveling, but not stuck in the present. "Billy blinked in 1958, traveled in time to 1961. It was NEw Year's Eve, and BIlly was disgracefully drunk at a party where everybody was in optometry or married to an optometrist." (Vonnegut, 46).
Now, I also found quite interesting the fact that the name of "Billy Pilgrim" was repeated continously throught the whole chapter, and I wouldn't be shocked if it was repeated throughout the whole book, because, as I kept reading, I found an apparent reason for this matter. "He told Billyto encourage people to call him Billy-because it would stick in their memories. I would also make him seem slightly magical, since there weren't any other grown Billys around. It also compelled people to think of him as a friend right away." (Vonnegut, 46). This was in fact TRUE in my case, since reading the name continously as I read the book never bothered me, it just flowed smoothly with the rest of the text while another name, like Johnathan, would've make me pause everytime. Also, Billy is in fact a name that I, and maybe other people, associate with a friendly an humble person, which is in fact Billy's attitude so far.
I also noticed that Pilgrim, Billy's last name, may in fact have a much greater meaning that just his family's name. Well, at the beginning of this chapter, the book talked about the abduction that Billy experienced by the Tralfamadorians, and how he was explanied how time and death "should" be seen. This voyage Billy had to Talfamadore, was in fact similar with the Pilgrims to North America in the year 1608, and the Tralfamadorians are, in my opinion, the indians that recived them in peace, and tought them how to farm and harvest a crop, such as corn. Like the Pilgrims, Billy was completely new and neive about Tralfamadore, and the ability to travel through time, like the Pilgrims in North America, and the ability to farm.
"so it goes", every time death is mentioned, it is followed by the so it goes, which is according to Billy's explanation, what the Tralfamadorians say after they see a dead corpse. According to Billy, only see death as a state where a being isn't ok; however it is ok plenty of other times in the past. "when a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but the same person is just fine in plenty other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is "So it goes." (Vonnegut, 26). But I really don't agree with the Tralfamadorian philosophy about that a dead person is just in a bad state and that he/she was fine before in many other times, because when a person is dead he/she is in that bad state for the rest of one's existance in the Earth. And, the fact that the Tralfamadorians say that the occurances in one's life don't have to be, as we see it, cronological, is wrong in my eyes, well I don't see in the fourth dimension of the Tralfamadorians, but I do know that every action has an equal reaction (Newton's third law of motion).
Finally, the fact that a motherfucker saved Billy's life is comic, and it can be interpretated as a word that shocks people so bad, that it saved Billy's life, "...and it did its job. It woke him up and got him off the road." (Vonnegut 34).
Now, I also found quite interesting the fact that the name of "Billy Pilgrim" was repeated continously throught the whole chapter, and I wouldn't be shocked if it was repeated throughout the whole book, because, as I kept reading, I found an apparent reason for this matter. "He told Billyto encourage people to call him Billy-because it would stick in their memories. I would also make him seem slightly magical, since there weren't any other grown Billys around. It also compelled people to think of him as a friend right away." (Vonnegut, 46). This was in fact TRUE in my case, since reading the name continously as I read the book never bothered me, it just flowed smoothly with the rest of the text while another name, like Johnathan, would've make me pause everytime. Also, Billy is in fact a name that I, and maybe other people, associate with a friendly an humble person, which is in fact Billy's attitude so far.
I also noticed that Pilgrim, Billy's last name, may in fact have a much greater meaning that just his family's name. Well, at the beginning of this chapter, the book talked about the abduction that Billy experienced by the Tralfamadorians, and how he was explanied how time and death "should" be seen. This voyage Billy had to Talfamadore, was in fact similar with the Pilgrims to North America in the year 1608, and the Tralfamadorians are, in my opinion, the indians that recived them in peace, and tought them how to farm and harvest a crop, such as corn. Like the Pilgrims, Billy was completely new and neive about Tralfamadore, and the ability to travel through time, like the Pilgrims in North America, and the ability to farm.
"so it goes", every time death is mentioned, it is followed by the so it goes, which is according to Billy's explanation, what the Tralfamadorians say after they see a dead corpse. According to Billy, only see death as a state where a being isn't ok; however it is ok plenty of other times in the past. "when a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but the same person is just fine in plenty other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is "So it goes." (Vonnegut, 26). But I really don't agree with the Tralfamadorian philosophy about that a dead person is just in a bad state and that he/she was fine before in many other times, because when a person is dead he/she is in that bad state for the rest of one's existance in the Earth. And, the fact that the Tralfamadorians say that the occurances in one's life don't have to be, as we see it, cronological, is wrong in my eyes, well I don't see in the fourth dimension of the Tralfamadorians, but I do know that every action has an equal reaction (Newton's third law of motion).
Finally, the fact that a motherfucker saved Billy's life is comic, and it can be interpretated as a word that shocks people so bad, that it saved Billy's life, "...and it did its job. It woke him up and got him off the road." (Vonnegut 34).
Blog's Questions Answers
Questions:
A: What is the difference between a blog and a book?
B: How have blogs changes recently?
C: Why might you read a blog?
D: Is there a reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
E: If you kept your own blog, what would you title it?
A: What is the difference between a blog and a book?
B: How have blogs changes recently?
C: Why might you read a blog?
D: Is there a reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
E: If you kept your own blog, what would you title it?
A: Their are many differences between a blog and a book. First of all, a blog is an electronic "forum" type of media, it is abstract, while a book is a concrete object that you can touch, and that is made on paper. Also, you usually have to pay to get a book, while blogs you can acces free of charge; however, the biggest difference between a blog and a book is its content. In a book in order to guide your reader through the narrative in the book, everything has to be explained either in an explicit way, or in an obvious implicit way so the reader nows what you are talking about. In the contrary, a blog is a forum type of space provided by the blog creator to discuss with people around the world about a commun subject. Due to this fact, their exists a unique terminology, or unique facts, that are not explained since the author considers that every person participating in the discussion knows this; however, most blogs have links to the unlimited sources of information that exist on the internet to explain the certain terminologies. When this happens, you enter into the "art" of blogging which in a book is not possible to do.
B: Before, during the 1980's the first forms of blogging appeared as on-line newspapers, newsgroups, on-line diaries, etc. however, the blogging we know in the present day started to influence the world in the year 1998 where the "Blood notes" became common where instead of posting much commentary, links were left for the people to follow. Then, in the year 1999 the blogging took a huge step when "build-your-own-web-log tools" came into the internet; although, in the year 1999 the tools for building a simple blog came out, it wasn't until the early XXI century that blogging really became famous where millions of people created their own blogs. Before, when blogging was knewly created, a blog was a useful source of information that rellied on outbound links that point on other web-sites to find information, blogs were a space for opinion and discussion. Now, the links that most matter in a blog are, in contrast to the outbound links, the inbound links which are placed by blog creators in other blogs so the web-surfers can find them. Now a days, bloggers instead of posting usefull information, they post attractive information in order to lure web-surfers to see their blogs. A constant competition is now going on between blog creators, and the one who is the famous wins.
C: In a blog you may read two types of information. The first one may be video clips, and other types of information that are useless for learning, they are just made to attract readers. The second and most important information you may encounter in a blog is unique facts and perspectives about controversial subjects which can vary in any subject. This information is most of the times updated every day, giving the reader fresh and new information about the subjects read.
D: Yes, there is a reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog. Well, blogs are usually, if not always, expressing free opinions of every reader on the web making a subjects infromation vary from post to post. And, although some posts have other links to back up their opinion about the subject treating, the information will always be altered depending on the perspective you as a reader is seeing.
E: If a kept my own blog I would probably choose its name depending on the subject it's about, since I can have many blogs. For example, if my blog is about Kung-Fu, I would name it after the style or styles of Kung-Fu I wish to disscuss about with other people in the world.
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