In the end, Questions and More Questions

The tittle for this entry says it all. I have finished Slaughterhouse-Five and have many questions. Getting into Vonnegut’s intellect, his personal life, and the characters he created show the genius he is and the masterpiece he accomplished to write. After finishing the book I was left with more and more questions than before, but that doesn’t take anything from the book: that’s part of the experience Slaughterhouse-Five is. I expected the last chapter to explain many things from the previous ones, but it didn’t. Vonnegut wrote simple descriptions and explanations like “He was arrested for plundering. He was tried and shot”. That quote actually explained who was the man who was shot and killed for grabbing someone’s teapot. I had high or different expectations of the last chapter, but instead of doing the expected, it did the unexpected. Kurt Vonnegut ended his book as he had written most of it: concise. Maybe I was left with questions because the book itself finished with one. “Poo-tee-weet?” That’s for Vonnegut to know and me to find out. Probably I will never know more about living and reliving everything at the same time, the way Billy did, but that doesn’t concern me because the novel was great.

In the beginning (first chapter) I was told this book was written on a pillar of salt. Maybe the ruins of war and it could be, that all “Poo-tee-weet” means, is nothing. Nothing, emptiness, vacancy, a void left in the void. I’m sure many people didn’t want that ending and probably disliked it and Vonnegut for doing it. But that’s what he decided to do and he warned us about his book. He doesn’t want to look back at war and promised not to do so in chapter one. “People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore”, is what I see as one of Vonnegut’s explanations of how he wrote his book.

Atomic Revenge

Andrea Copello made a Blog entry titled “A Shooting Disorder”, in which she compared The Virginia Tech Massacre and the recent shooting in Norway, with Paul Lazarro’s perception of revenge. Andrea described the killing of these people and Paul Lazarro’s revenge on the dog that bit him, like “not normal” things to do. She believes there’s something wrong in these peoples’ heads, and I agree with all she wrote. Even though I agree with her, I think Paul Lazarro is an amazing character. Vonnegut crafted someone who could show the effects of war in people and the way war can affect people’s head, and not just social differences and beliefs. Regarding the killings, these are very unusual behaviors that go beyond revenge, irrationality, and insanity. These type of people, are a social problem.

Revenge is something everyone experiences in different ways and different measures, and it something very complex because not everyone thinks revenge actually exists. Similar to Karma. Some people believe revenge is justice, and others think its savage, unreasonable, and useless. In chapter nine ofSlaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut quoted part of U.S ex-president Harry S Truman’s announcement to the world about Hiroshima’s atomic bomb. He then quoted excerpts of The Destruction of Dresdenby David Irving and I learned about 71,000 people died in Hiroshima (of course thousands more died because of radiation and other side effects) while about 135,000 died in Dresden’s bombings. Without a doubt both where terrible things, but then comes the question: does the killing of thousands of people justify? In Vonnegut’s novel Harvard professor Bertram Copeland Roomford believed Dresden had to be bombed. “It had to be done,” said Roomford, to what Billy responded “I know”. “Everything is all right, and everybody has to do exactly what he does.” Said Billy talking about Dresden. If Billy truly believes in Tralfamadorian principles he would also say the atomic bombing on Hiroshima had to be done. I can’t say either the bombing of Dresden or Hiroshima (and then Nagasaki) justify, but these where measures that where taken by war heroes in order to stop Nazism (Dresden) and then Japan ignoring the Potsdam Declaration, which would make them continue the war. These where not revenges but thousands of the people who where affected by the bombings wanted revenge and payback, but would you want revenge?

Hiroshima Bombing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs3JE4WRL-8&feature=related