In the book, Billy is shown as a careless man who does not care much about life of others around him. In a way he is almost suicidal in that he could care less if he is shot or killed, and thus puts the pressure on others to aid him and carry/drag him along with them. He is a burden. He has a framed prayer hanging in his office that helps him to keep going and to keep living life.
"Billy had a framed prayer on his office wall which expressed his methods for keeping going, even though he was unenthusiastic about living "(Pg. 60)
Billy's lack of enthusiasm in life is also shown in the book when he is shot at on the road by a sniper during the war, and instead of getting to cover like all the others, he stood still and as said in the book "gave the shooter a second chance." It was luck that he was not hit by the second bullet, and in many ways this luck continues to keep Billy alive when he seems to just want it to be over. Do you think that Billy is a reflection of what Kurt Vonnegut saw himself as in the war and if so, why?
To write this novel Vonnegut had to of experienced some of these things or lived them through someone who was very close to him. Clearly him and Billy both have intense imaginations so yes, I do think Billy is a reflection of Vonnegut in the war. Maybe Vonnegut had the same troubles as Billy and wanted to tell his audience by using a creative method. One that Vonnegut wished he had used during his times in the war?
ReplyDeleteWithout knowing exactly what Vonnegut was like during war you cannot truly know if he was using Billy to reflect himself or not. It is very possible that Vonnegut used Billy to portray himself and if so then I do not think Vonnegut should have been involved in the war. Going out there with a mind set like Billy's and not caring if he lived or not would be committing suicide and as you said it is luck that he made it through alive. If I was Vonnegut and I was writing about war and my experiences then I would have made myself out to be a lot cooler then Billy is. More heroic like Roland was. Simply because it's a book and your allowed to do that. Knowing that someone with no true desire to fight and survive shows me how desperate countries were to have soldiers and build their armies. In today's society the military wouldn't accept you if they couldn't rely on you to put everything you have into defending your country.
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