Second Selves

As I was reading chapter eight of Slaughterhouse-Five I began to think maybe Kurt Vonnegut doesn’t just appear as himself in the story. Kilgore Trout is a science fiction writer, who became Billy Pilgrim’s friend when he was in his 18^th marriage anniversary. Before meeting the writer, Billy had read many of his books while he was at a hospital and really enjoyed them. Trout believes no one reads his books and in his books he wrote about time travelling and thought Billy had seen through a time window. “He suddenly saw the past or the future.” Said trout, when Billy had a physical breakdown. I have a feeling Trout is somewhat based on Vonnegut himself (more likely Billy too). In the first chapter of the book Vonnegut wrote this book was a failure. “This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt.” Vonnegut wrote this in his first chapter, when he referred to his book. Trout’s books were failures and his first fan was Billy Pilgrim. I just googled “Kilgore Trout” and he is actually based on another author, but it is said some critics view him as Vonnegut’s alter ego. It is much more likely that many aspects of Billy Pilgrim are based on Kurt Vonnegut, but maybe he is not the only one.

Chapter eight was a little disappointing for me. The bombing of Dresden was barely described. I hoped it would craft images of destruction and what it was for the POWs to be there in my head, but Vonnegut went straight to the point. “Everybody else in the neighborhood was dead. So it goes.” That was part of what Vonnegut wrote to describe how it was when it was safe to get out of the shelters. I may be disappointed, but I understand Vonnegut’s writing. And he also warned his readers things like this would be in his book. Billy is emotionless and that’s why we don’t get any more from Dresden, but Vonnegut felt he shouldn’t look back any more after writing this book and that’s why he probably gives only the essential information needed to understand what he lived. ”Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals.” The book certainly doesn’t disappoint me and I am very anxious to see how it ends. Even though I already know how Billy’s life ended, how the war ended, and that Vonnegut was part of the war, I am sure what is left of the book will be mind-blowing, as Billy’s adventures have been.

Click here for Dresden footage