I am finished!

I am not going to lie. That was actually a pretty good book. I had my doubts in the beginning, but it turned out well! I did not think it was too boring like a few other books I have read in school. I like Vonnegut's humor, and I was unable to guess what would happen next because he was all over the place with the time traveling. It did seem weird at times, but it did not ruin the fact that I liked the book. I am not a big reader, and it is very hard to find a book that I like. I was not too excited to read a novel over summer break, but I am happy that I read this novel.

Chapter 10: Entry #2

“They didn’t smell bad at first, were wax museums” (Vonnegut 132). Billy is talking about when he was forced to dig for bodies and they found buildings were bodies were left. Wax museums are exhibitions of wax dummies, typically representing famous people and fictional characters. This sentence by Vonnegut makes me recall back in fifth grade when St. Barnabas did our wax museum. We each were able to choose our own famous person to impersonate. I chose Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens was African American and a sprinter in the Olympics. Meanwhile, I am a red head who does not tan very well. It was very interesting to wear my short shorts and tank top. From the appearance standpoint, I was not a very good Jesse Owens. It was fun though and I was able to learn a lot about the different famous people in history. It is funny that one sentence from a novel can cause one to remember different events from one’s past.

Chapter 10: Motif

“So it goes” (Vonnegut 133). This phrase appears too many times to count throughout this novel. At first I did not quite understand why he put it in the story so much. After four or five chapters, I started to realize that “So it goes” occurs after death or dying. I still do not know if I know exactly why he puts it yet. My guess and what I believe is that he uses this phrase to show that death will always occur. It is simply part of life. According to Billy’s new point of view and the Tralfamadorians, no one is truly dead. They are just absent in that moment. They are still living in the past moments: somewhere else at some other time. To me, this is very similar to my outlook on heaven. Although the soul moves on to be with God in heaven, the memories stay with us. “And so on.” (Vonnegut 31).  One’s time on earth is how they will be remembered after they are deceased and their soul moves on to the next life. “So it goes.”

Chapter 9: Entry #2

“It cost a quarter to look into a machine for one minute” (Vonnegut 125).  Billy stumbles across this machine while looking for books in the “book” store. This machine costs a quarter in return for the user to look at different discreet pictures of woman for just one minute. One day, I was watching Pawn Stars when a man wanted to sell his machine. The machine is called a peep show machine. I had never heard of one until I recently saw that episode of Pawn Stars. They did not buy the machine, and I honestly do not blame them. Although the book store does not turn out to be what he was expecting, he still finds a Kilgore Trout book that he is interested in so his time in the store is not completely wasted.

Chapter 9: Allusion

“Before Billy opened his eyes, it seemed to him that the tones might have been those used by the friends of Jesus when they took His ruined body down from His cross” (Vonnegut 122). This is obviously comparing the way the man and woman were talking along the road to the way Jesus’ friends were speaking when he was crucified. This is a sorrowful tone. Vonnegut is showing us that they were mourning the physical nature of the horse at the present time. The horse was badly hurt with bleeding hooves and it still carried Billy and the others along. The horse was sacrificing its health to carry Billy. The couple was able to get Billy’s attention and help the horse. They got out of the carriage and left the horse. The fact that the couple cared that much about the horse shows that they are very compassionate people much like the friends of Jesus.

Chapter 8: Entry #2

“‘You looked as though you’d seen a ghost,’ said Valencia” (Vonnegut 108). This quote may be more commonly said than the rhetorical question above. I have only heard it said when someone is either worn out or looks scared. It obviously does not mean the person has actually seen a ghost. Although I have watched a television series called “Ghost Hunters” and in that aspect it is used in its literal form.  I did some research, and the reason Billy was so pale and “out of it” is because he remembered a moment from the bombing. When he looked over at the Febs with their mouth open, it reminded him of the Dresden bombing. The guards watching the prisoners in the safe haven had the same look on their face during the actual bombing.

Chapter 8: Rhetorical Question

“‘What are we going to do with you?’” (Vonnegut 104). Billy’s daughter is asking Billy this. This is a widely used question around my house. When anyone does something wrong, I hear my mom asking asking my siblings this question question a lot. I sometimes find myself asking the same thing to certain siblings. The question is not meant to have an answer. When one is asked this question, one knows they have done something wrong. Over the years, Billy’s daughter feels as if she has “put up” with a lot. Shes heard his fictional stories of being abducted by aliens and his new outlook on life. This leads her to ask her father, “What are we going to do with you?” The fact that his daughter is asking him this makes it seem as if he is very childlike. It seems like she treats Billy as if he is a child and does not know between right and wrong.

Chapter 7: Entry #2

                “The syrup tasted like thin honey laced with hickory smoke, and everybody who worked in the factory secretly spooned it all day” (Vonnegut 101). This is very funny to me because this occurs at my job. I am a fountain boy for Steak N’ Shake. Throughout my shifts, many employees walk by the different candies used for the milkshakes. We are not technically supposed to take any of these candies but it does not stop anyone from doing it. We will get in trouble if we are caught doing it, but the consequences will not be as harsh as they are for the prisoners of war. The peanut butter used for the Nutter Butter milkshakes is very thin and delicious. That is the main food that my fellow employees like to take. Although after eating too much of it, I do begin to feel quite sick.

Chapter 7: Personification

“A moment went by, and then every cell in Billy’s body shook him with ravenous gratitude and applause” (Vonnegut 101). This occurred after Billy ate a spoonful of the pregnancy syrup. Vonnegut uses personification to reveal how Billy’s cells reacted to their portion of the syrup. We all know that cells can not physically applaud and show their feelings. I really like how he uses personification to show how the cells feel though. Many people can relate to that feeling, especially when we eat something very good. After work, I will eat and it feels as if my body is rejoicing that I finally ate something. That is probably a very similar feeling as the one Vonnegut is describing. I like how Vonnegut takes natural feelings and is able to describe it in a deeper perspective.

Chapter 6: Entry #2

“Roguish fauns and naked nymphs peeked down at Billy from festooned cornices” (Vonnegut 95). Billy is so enchanted by the city’s architecture. This quotation makes me think of the movie Hunchback of Notre Dame. It seems as if the statues are coming alive and watching Billy as he walks through Dresden. I was not very sure of what cornices were but after a little research I found that it is the horizontal molded projection that crowns a building. On the Americans entrance to Dresden, it seemed as if everyone was staring at them including the architecture. Dresden had this magical appearance to the prisoners of war because it was one of the few European cities not influenced or harmed by war, yet. Everything was so peaceful so it gave the city a dreamlike appearance.

Chapter 6: Dramatic Irony

“Derby was imagining letters to home, his lips worked tremulously: Dear Margaret- We are leaving for Dresden today. Don’t worry. It will never be bombed. It is an open city” (Vonnegut 93). This is the epitome of dramatic irony because Vonnegut has already informed us that Dresden will be bombed, yet Derby does not know that yet. He writes a letter to his wife telling her that everything will be okay, although everything does not turn out to be fine. Although Derby does not die due to the bombing, he does not return from war. We know that he is shot by a firing squad. For what reason was he shot? We do not know yet. Dresden was an “open city” that is why it had little defense. Their army was worthless and open to attack. During a world war, an open city is not where I would feel safe.

Chapter 5: Entry #2

“‘What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen al l at one time’” (Vonngut 60).

          I am fond of this citation because it tells us a large number about the lifestyle of the Tralfamadorians. The Tralfamadorians see the past, present and future all at once. This is shown through the phrase, “the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time.” Their literature fits their way of society perfectly. They have no free will or free choice to write or do anything. They already know what will happen and what they will chose to do. We are a diverse society, and we have free choice and free will. This is very evident in our earthling novels. We have all different themes, styles and genres. My favorite theme would be adventure and autobiographies because it has actually happened to that person. I feel as if Vonnegut is telling me that different cultures have different themes and genres to their literature because they live in a different society. Just because we do not see “eye to eye” with that culture, does not always mean it is wrong.

Chapter 5: Simile

“She [Valencia] was as big as a house because she couldn’t stop eating” (Vonnegut 70). I think this quotation is hilarious. He uses a simile to tell us that his fiancée is a rather large woman. Billy tells us that “she couldn’t stop eating” and this apparent throughout the novel. Almost every time Valencia is acknowledged in the story, she is eating something. Much of the time what she is feasting on is candy bars. This shows that she has a “sweet tooth.” This quote from above makes me believe that Billy does not truly love Valencia. On the following page, it says, “Billy didn’t want to marry ugly Valencia. She was one of the symptoms of his disease.” This backs up my belief. I like Vonnegut’s humor with Valencia. It makes the novel more interesting.

Chapter 4: Entry #2

“Out of the shower heads gushed scalding rain. The rain was a blowtorch that did not warm. It jazzed and jangled Billy’s skin without thawing the ice in the narrow of his long bones” (Vonnegut 58).  Billy is talking about when he took a shower in the prisoners’ camp.  Many people who live in regions with cold winters can relate to this. Last winter I can recall spending hours playing with my siblings outside. When I went inside, I decided to take a steaming shower. Although this shower was hot, I did not seem to be able to regain heat to my body. This is the same situation that Billy was in. He had just spent hours in the freezing cold, and when it came time for him to take a hot shower, his body responded the same way mine had when I took my shower. I like how he stated, “It jazzed and jangled Billy’s skin without thawing the ice.” To me, it sounds like his skin is having many little spasms as the water hits it. I have never really thought of it that way, but it seems like a very good comparison.

Chapter 4: Irony

“On the ninth day, the forty year old hobo died. So it goes. His last words were, ‘You think this is bad? This ain’t bad.’” (Vonnegut 55). This is a prime example of irony. Although he was about to die, the hobo still reiterated this line “You think this is bad? This ain’t bad.” The hobo reveals that he has been in worse conditions, than being locked up in that train with many other prisoners of war. This is ironic because he was able to survive the other shoddier conditions but passes away in these conditions. This also tells us that the hobo has been through a lot during his life. For one to think that being a POW is not that bad, reveals that the person is not used to luxury or anything close to a lavish lifestyle. It also talked about how the hobo was the only one who would sleep near Billy. Everybody else in the train forced him to sleep while standing because they did not like how he would yell and thrash in his sleep. I think Vonnegut uses this ironic quote as humor; in addition to showing that there are many people in this world who do have it worse than many of us.