"On the ninth day, the hobo died. So it goes. His last words were, "You think this is bad? This ain't bad".(pg. 79)
I believe that this man was just trying to conceal his fear and weakness by convincing himself that he has gone through worse. I also believe that this was somewhat the case with Billy and the tralfamadadorians. He has made up the scenario in his head as a coping mechanism for what he has seen in war. Do you think Billy is using the Alien race to explain whats happening in a less harmful and brutal way?
Absolutely. It is very difficult to talk about harmful and scary things, so Billy is using the Tralfamadorians to make the situations more lighthearted. Tralfamadore is probably the last thing anyone would ever create in their mind, because it is so imaginative. However, maybe that is why Billy chose the Alien race because it is so mind-boggling and it's hard to imagine a planet with them. Similar to how hard it is to believe Earth is filled with humans turning against each other. At least on Tralfamadore they can look past all the negative personalities of one another and live a happy life.
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