Blue and Ivory: and more Repetition

As this book continues on, I have noticed more and more repetition of phrases. One particular one is "blue and ivory," I have noticed this phrase on several pages. First on p.28, describing Billy's feet, next on p.72 and 73, again describing his feet, as well as on p. 75, and lastly (that I've read up too) on p. 80, but this time, it wasn't describing feet. " Billy Pilgrim was lying at an angle on the corner-brace, self-crucified, holding himself there with a blue and ivory claw hooked over the sill of the ventilator" (Vonnegut).

I wonder what meaning blue and ivory have in this book?

I have no doubt that this phrase will be used again, will it lead to something more?

Is it perhaps a connection between Billy and the Tralfamadorians?

Also why do you think the author choses to use this particular writing technique in his story?

There were other uses of repetition in this book, like the phrase "mustard gas and roses" a smell chose to describe the war. I think that repetition can be a very useful way to get a point across in ones writing, my only question is..... what's his point?

(Everyone should know that at this point I have only read up to page 119, and "the point" could just be further on)

Reality Or Make Believe?

It is clearly evident that Tralfamadorians are different in many ways compared to human beings. The many ways goes beyond just the physical features, but more into mentality. Human beings have a self care attitude and the body will do everything to survive when it all comes down to it. This concept of "eat or be eaten" can easily describe the nature of humans. While this does not always have the literal meaning, it describes different situations such as in war. In war, it is all about killing the enemy and surviving yourself --- eat (kill the enemy and survive) or be eaten (get killed). However, the Tralfamadorians are the complete opposite and could be described with the three C's --- cool, calm and collected. An example of the collectedness that this species has would be in Chapter Five, "That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones" (Vonnegut, 117).

The behaviour and mentality of the Tralfamadorians raises a few questions:

1. Could this mentality that the Tralfamadorians possess be a reality someday or is it a figment of Vonnegut's imagination and something that he wished for the world? 
2. If humans try hard enough, could the awful times be ignored? Is it really that easy? 
3. Is this concept of ignoring the bad times and focusing on the good ones, something human beings would want to do? If so, how would it all come together --- where is the starting point to achieving this? 
4. Can ignoring the bad times and focusing on the good times become a reality? 
5. Are the Tralfamadorians foolish in thinking this, too optimistic or something else entirely?

Having different perspectives is completely okay. In the book, The Crossing by Michael Connelly, the main character, Harry Bosch, has a very different mentality on a case than his colleague, Mickey Haller. Haller asks Bosch, a retired detective, to investigate a case that surrounds his current client because Haller believes that his client is being framed and is actually innocent. Bosch finds this skeptical and as his private investigation continues, he feels like Haller's client could be at fault. The detective's and lawyer's perspective on the case is on complete ends of the spectrum. The two individuals can represent the Tralfamadorians and human beings because they don't understand one another. The Tralfamadorians don't understand the concept of time that humans have, "They couldn't imagine what time looked like to him, (Vonnegut, 114), while humans cannot understand the way reproduction works for Tralfamadorians, "It was gibberish to Billy" (Vonnegut, 114). This is just like how Bosch doesn't see why Haller thinks his client is innocent.

Tralfamadore --- Better Or Worse?

It has been very clear from the beginning that Tralfamadore and its inhabitants are very different compared to Earth and its inhabitants from mentality to physical features to life in general. Readers first see a glimpse of the mentality of Tralfamadorians by the concept of death in Chapter Two: "When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that person is just fine in plenty of other moments" (Vonnegut, 27). Details about physical appearance come later in Chapter Five:
"There were thousands of them outside, holding up their little hands so that their eyes could see him" (Vonnegut, 112). A snapshot of what life is like on Tralfamadore is also shown in Chapter Five: "They told him that there could be no Earthling babies without male homosexuals. There could be babies without female homosexuals. There couldn't be babies without women over sixty-five years old. There could be babies without men over sixty-five. There couldn't be babies without other babies who had lived an hour or less after birth (Vonnegut, 114).

Knowing some aspects of what is like to be a Tralfamadorian, would living on Tralfamadore be a better or worse experience than living as a human being on Earth? Why or why not? Is certain aspects of life, such as reproduction, easier as a Tralfamadorian or as a human? Why or why not? If certain aspects are easier or more difficult as either a Tralfamadorian or as a human, what are they?

The idea of having another species and their own way of life that is completely different from how it is on Earth, reminds me of the novel, The Host by Stephenie Meyer. The Host is about Earth in an advanced time and it is being invaded by an alien race, whose species name is "Souls".  The whole novel surrounds one Soul who is trying to invade a human but the individual refuses to allow the invasion. The Souls are like the Tralfamadorians because their way of life highly varies than the way of life of humans. Having the Soul attempt to take control of the human's body is similar to the Tralfamadorians taking Billy to Tralfamadore.

Narrator

What do the aliens have to do with that story? “If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings,” said the Tralfamadorian, “I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by ‘free will.’ I’ve visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will.” How do they play a role in the story and the time travel aspect of the story?

Who's who? And what is really true?

        So I know that before we started this novel Ms. Ivory told us not to think of the "I" in chapter one as Kurt Vonnegut, but I was wondering who you/we think "I" really is?
       I also noticed that chapter one isn't the only place where the narrator is used. On page 67 when we meet "Wild Bob", there is a quote that reads, "'If you're ever in Cody, Wyoming, just ask for Wild Bob!' I was there. So was my old war buddy, Bernard V. O'Hare." I am also wondering why Vonnegut chose to use a narrator to interrupt his story of Billy Pilgrim, it also makes me wonder if perhaps this is really a story that the "I" is just telling Vonnegut, or someone else.
        I have read many books where an author has chosen to write in the first person, even though that first person isn't actually the author. However in the case of Slaughterhouse Five, the difference between the first person and the author is not as clear.
        I have also read books where the author wants to tell their story, but also wants to make it different then how it actually went, so they take the place of their main character, and tell their story from the characters position. And maybe it's a little different than how it actually happened, but usually in those cases the main character would have the characteristics of the author. Also in those books you usually find that in the preface the author has chosen to tell the readers that the story is true, but they have changed the names.
       Which, in the very beginning the narrator tells us, "All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true.... I've changed all the names" (Vonnegut 1). Who did this happen to? How do we know it's true, is it true for a character that Vonnegut made up? In which case is it true at all?
       I am confused in this novel as to who Vonnegut represents, is he the narrator? Is he Billy? Is he Weary? Is he just another soldier observing the war, and telling a story? Or is he not a character at all?

Why did Vonnegut tell the whole story right in the beginning and how does it make the book the way it is?

More To A Person Than Meets The Eye

Early on in the book, the reader can see that Billy is more timid than his fellow comrades. One of those comrades is Roland Weary. Weary has the complete opposite personality and demeanor of Billy --- confident, bossy, outgoing. In Chapter Three, however, this confident demeanor is challenged. On page fifty four, the quote: "And Weary, bug-eyed with terror, was being disarmed" (Vonnegut, 54), shows a new side to Weary --- he's scared. This quote stuck out to me because it reminded me of the idiom: "There's more to a person than meets the eye", and I realized that this is true for Weary. While being disarmed, Weary could've had his usual behaviour (the one he has around his comrades) displayed, but he didn't. The fact that he was "bug-eyed with terror" shows that he isn't always confident with the situation, that he can be vulnerable too, and that is evidence for showing a new side of him.

Knowing that Weary has sides to him that he doesn't let surface, like being scared, lead me to wonder if there were sides to Billy that haven't been "discovered" or "uncovered" yet? Is Billy really that timid? Or is there more to him than he lets on? If there are more sides to him, will readers see these sides as the story carries on?

This whole concept of having more to a person than meets the eye, is also shown in Haunted by Kay Hooper. A local sheriff, Trinity Nichols, shows that she does not know much about the paranormal world, but enough to know that it exists. Later in the book, it is discovered that Trinity knows quite a bit more than she let on, initially. This relates to Weary from Slaughterhouse Five because he didn't let on that he gets scared too, while Trinity didn't let on that she knew more than she told.