No Coincidence

Coming to the closure of Slaughterhouse-Five, I made a connection that had been calling for attention through the whole novel. I had never wondered the meaning of Trout in the book: what was so important about the plots of his Sci-Fi books? The first two pages of the last chapter finally got my attention in their last desperate attempt to make the character’s role clear. Billy mentions the Trafalmadorians, which is nothing new, but this time an apparition of one of Trout’s books follows. Billy talks about the Trafalmadorian concept of Christ as so: “there isn’t much interest in Jesus Christ. The earthling figure who is most engaging to the Trafalmadorian mind, he says, is Charles Darwin (210).” This has no great significance on its own, but then you come across: “The same general idea appears in The Big Board by Kilgore Trout. The flying saucer creatures who capture Trout’s hero ask him about Darwin (210-11).” Exactly, my mind also went click right there. It is clearly stated that there is a direct relation between Trout and his books and Billy’s accounts for his time-traveling. Take the mentioned scene for example, Trout’s book starts off with the Trafalmadorian concept of Darwin, and Billy’s conclusion in the topic reaches the same point. We have also been told about Billy’s admiration towards the mentioned author, how he has read all his books, and how they have formally met. Now it is vital to understand these recurring relationships.

As I see it, there are two options: Billy copied Trout, or Trout wrote about Billy (Yes, I will disregard coincidence). Consider the later, it is quite possible, but then spatial controversies emerge. Trout was an author before he met Billy, for Billy became a fan of the books long before he met Trout in his meeting with the paper-delivery boys. He had read his books in the hospital. He had probably read the books before the war started. Another connection between book and time-travel emerges in the hospital where Billy met Rosewater. It was a book the later happened to have in his hands: “It was The Gospel from Outer Space, by Kilgore Trout. It was about a visitor from outer space, shaped very much like a Trafalmadorian, by the way. The visitor from outer space made a very serious study on Christianity, to learn, if he could, why Christians found it so easy to be cruel (108).” A book that talks about visitors from outer space “shaped very much like a Trafalmadorian”is pointing out the obvious relation. Billy’s Trafalmadorians were a product of the book Rosewater had on his hands. It all starts to fit in perfectly now, for the second part of the description of the book will help us understand the effect this specific author has on Billy’s mind. By mentioning “why Christians found it so easy to be cruel,” the narration is definitely making an allusion to that cruel world in which Billy lives in, that cruel war which our Pilgrim had to face. We have come to view the pessimist message in the novel, where Vonnegut questions life, where makes us wonder if life is really worth it in midst of so much misery and evil. Every time the novel makes an allusion to one of Trout’s books, the plot of it finds itself completely interrelated with Billy’s experiences.

Billy has a big imagination, which we have confused with a time traveling ability, and an intergalactic kidnap. As I close this book, I am glad to have paid attention to that last hint in those controversial words. The story has started to fit in place, and themes now emerge in my mind as I incorporate this new connection to my previous understanding. But I can’t help wonder: I caught this hint only as I rushed past the final chapter of the book, them having been present at least half of the pages. How many more have I missed? There could be many other phrases hidden in the scramble that covers those thin layers waiting to be found.