More Slaughterhouse-Five

"They didn't think it [Billy's mental illness] had anything to do with the war.  They were sure Billy was going to pieces because his father had thrown him into the deep end of the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool when he was a little boy, and had then taken him to the rim of the Grand Canyon."

This quote bitingly attacks society, and especially those in authority.  The satire of the U.S. throughout the book is the main focus.  Billy knows what he saw in the war messed him up, but this is the age before people accepted PTSD as real, so the shrinks come up with baloney excuses to explain his mental illness and anxiety.

I see some connection to the idea of Eliot's Hollow Men in this novel. Billy's marriage is problematic as was the war.  He doesn't love his wife at all, but feigned interest in her.  His wife is rich, but that is not the main reason he married her, I think it had to do with his stumbling nature.  People do not always do the right thing.  The tone of the book is hollow as well.  I find myself laughing, but then catching myself saying it isn't that funny.

The Tralfamadore plot is hilarious.  The situation can be a bit vulgar at times, but I think it is necessary for Vonnegut to get his point across.  In essence, the Tralfamadoreans create an artificial environment in the same way we have zoos, and Billy ends up with a woman he would have no chance with on Earth.  In a way that parallels the war because both experiences involve huge, impersonal entities that cause people to do and experience things they otherwise would not.  At the same time, each person is still making the choices, so his or her character is somewhat tested, but I am not sure if that is the main drive of this piece.  Overall, I still like the book and definitely see potential.