- Why did seeing the condition of the horses unleash tears when he didn't cry about anything else?
- Is Billy crying just because of the condition of the horses?
- Is he crying because of everything that he has experienced in the war (and possibly after the war since he time travels)?
- Is it a combination of the two?
- Does this action of crying symbolize anything? If so, what?
Another quote, on the same page, that raised a couple of questions,"Billy cried very little, though he often saw things worth crying about.." (Vonnegut, 197):
- What was so significant about the condition of the horses that it made Billy cry?
- Why was someone losing their life not "worthy" of his crying?
This "lack" of crying reminds me of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque because the soldiers did not allow themselves to cry, to feel their emotions, because they knew that it would weaken them. By crying, it would make everything --- the war, the deaths, the insanity, become reality. Perhaps, Billy did not cry throughout the book because he was trying to avoid reality as the soldiers did in All Quiet on the Western Front?
That second quote really stuck out to me, how Billy is in war, and he sees terrible things everyday, things that most people would cry about if they saw it occur, but Billy doesn't cry.
ReplyDeleteFor most people crying is an expression of emotion, weather it be because they are sad, mad, upset, angry, or even happy, people will cry. I think that of all of the things that Billy experienced in the war and in his life, the horses showed to him that others could get hurt from the war even if they did not want to participate in it. All soldiers fighting in wars know that there is a big chance that they will get hurt, or die, but for the horses, they did't have a choice, they didn't know they they were going to get this way by pulling Billy around. I think that Billy realized that others can get hurt because of the war, and its not only the soldiers.
I also think that the comparison you made to All Quiet on the Western Front was very accurate, and Billy must have been feeling some similar feelings to those of the soldiers from that novel.
This is a very insightful response! I thought about the soldiers and all of the other people who were involved in the war, but the animals that were impacted during the war, didn't occur to me. I like how you bring the animals into perspective and how they cannot voice their views and really are just forced into something so brutal, that they don't know what to expect. I also agree with your thinking on Billy's realization about how others, besides soldiers, can get hurt and that they all aren't humans.
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