The question our group decided to use is; How does society’s decisions affect an individual's? When society (in this case the American government) decided to enter World War II, it made Billy Pilgrim (the main character) and many more men, get drafted to fight and witness the firebombing of Dresden which had an effect on how Billy’s mind works. Billy was tasked to a regiment that had lost their chaplain and he was to become the replacement. He came with no gear, boots, or a weapon and was ready to die. Billy hated war, and the fact that he didn’t come prepared reinforces the idea that Billy was opposed to it. A quote that shows how Billy affected others is “Last came Billy Pilgrim, empty handed, bleakly ready for death. Billy was preposterous- six feet and three inches tall, with a chest and shoulders like a box of kitchen matches. He had no helmet, no overcoat, no weapon, and no boots.” Pg. 32-33. Others went to war prepared to fight, however Billy was not prepared and was willing to die. After going through the horror’s of war, Billy had given up on himself, hope, his group, and life itself. This was a big turning point for him.
Another example is “Poor Ol’ Edgar Derby’s” decision to steal a teapot from the catacombs and how it eventually lead to his execution. "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no people for dramatic confrontations, because most people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters. But old Derby was a character now." (164) As you continue reading through the book, you’ll gradually notice that Billy has a relationship with Edgar after he mentions him the first time when he becomes “unstuck in time”. This becomes clear as Edgar is repeatedly mentioned throughout the novel. Society’s rules of right and wrong in war were so important that a small offense required a serious penalty, Did it really require Edgars death? “How nice -- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive.” (105) During the fighting, many had to kill or be killed. But in this event they punish a petty thief and not the killers? If there was one event that seriously made Billy lose it was the tragic death of his wife.
The death of Billy’s wife and father-in-law certainly changed his view on life and society. While on the plane ride, “The plane crashed on top of Sugarbush Mountain, in Vermont. Everybody was killed but Billy.” (25) And, to make things worse his wife died of carbon-monoxide poisoning while Billy was recovering in the hospital. It is after these two incidents my group decided, that Billy loses it.
“Billy asked them a little about themselves, learned that that boy’s father had been killed in Vietnam-in the famous five-day battle for Hill 875 near Dakto. So it goes.” Pg 134-135 In this quote, a child’s father was killed in the Vietnam War and Billy tries to make him feel better by telling him that “he was very much alive”. The decision of society to enter the war and send the boy’s father’s unit into the battlefield caused his father to die and thus affecting the boy and his mother. Because of this, the individuals (the boy and his mother) were affected negatively due to society’s decision.
After reading the novel, Slaughterhouse 5, we have found multiple examples of how society’s decisions have affected an individual’s. Billy After reading this and reading further into the novel my, group and I decided that Billy is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD due to being captured by Germans in World War II and going through the loss of his wife and almost his life.
Another example is “Poor Ol’ Edgar Derby’s” decision to steal a teapot from the catacombs and how it eventually lead to his execution. "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no people for dramatic confrontations, because most people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters. But old Derby was a character now." (164) As you continue reading through the book, you’ll gradually notice that Billy has a relationship with Edgar after he mentions him the first time when he becomes “unstuck in time”. This becomes clear as Edgar is repeatedly mentioned throughout the novel. Society’s rules of right and wrong in war were so important that a small offense required a serious penalty, Did it really require Edgars death? “How nice -- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive.” (105) During the fighting, many had to kill or be killed. But in this event they punish a petty thief and not the killers? If there was one event that seriously made Billy lose it was the tragic death of his wife.
The death of Billy’s wife and father-in-law certainly changed his view on life and society. While on the plane ride, “The plane crashed on top of Sugarbush Mountain, in Vermont. Everybody was killed but Billy.” (25) And, to make things worse his wife died of carbon-monoxide poisoning while Billy was recovering in the hospital. It is after these two incidents my group decided, that Billy loses it.
“Billy asked them a little about themselves, learned that that boy’s father had been killed in Vietnam-in the famous five-day battle for Hill 875 near Dakto. So it goes.” Pg 134-135 In this quote, a child’s father was killed in the Vietnam War and Billy tries to make him feel better by telling him that “he was very much alive”. The decision of society to enter the war and send the boy’s father’s unit into the battlefield caused his father to die and thus affecting the boy and his mother. Because of this, the individuals (the boy and his mother) were affected negatively due to society’s decision.
After reading the novel, Slaughterhouse 5, we have found multiple examples of how society’s decisions have affected an individual’s. Billy After reading this and reading further into the novel my, group and I decided that Billy is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD due to being captured by Germans in World War II and going through the loss of his wife and almost his life.