Quote: “Billy was told to hang the tag around his neck along with his American dogtags, which he did. The tag was like a salt cracker, perforated down its middle so that a strong man could snap it in two with his bare hands. In case Billy died, which he didn't, half the tag would mark his body and half would mark his grave.” (Vonnegut 92) 

Analysis: The tags the soldiers receive are symbolic of the inhumane nature of war. The value of life has been diminished and people are now viewed as bodies to serve, not souls. The way a dog-tag can so easily be snapped in half parallels how quickly a life can be taken.  

 

2.  Symbol: Tralfamadorian books 

Quote: “We Tralfamadorians read them all at once, not one after the other. There isn’t any particular relationship between all the messages, except that the authors has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time,” (Vonnegut 88). 

Analysis: Life isn’t meant to be judged based off of a single moment because everyone has their ups and downs. Rather, life should be viewed based on the whole timeline since the beauty and ugly correspond with one another. Since Tralfamadorians have a unique fourth-dimension of time that isn’t understood by humans, it teaches that people shouldn’t dwell upon the little things since they become insignificant in the grand scheme of things. 

 

3.  Symbol: Giraffes 

Quote: “The giraffes accepted Billy as one of their own, as a harmless creature as preposterously specialized as themselves. Two approached him from opposite sides, leaned against him. They had long, muscular upper lips which they could shape like the bells of bugles. They kissed him with these.” (Vonnegut 99) 

Analysis: In Billy’s dream, he is easily welcomed into the group of giraffes. Their acceptance of him is symbolic of the trusting and gentle nature of his character. Unlike the soldiers that surround him, Billy is nonviolent and embraces the obstacles that come his way. 

 

4.  Symbol: The Tralfamdorian Television Set 

Quote: "The television didn’t. There was a picture of one cowboy killing another one pasted to the television tube. So it goes” (112). 

Analysis: The Tralfamadorians are a figment of Billy’s imagination, and also reflect how he sees the world and copes with it. On the broken television set, the Tralfamadorians pasted a picture of a cowboy killing another cowboy. However, this is all in Billy’s mind, and reflects the violence Billy believes is typical on Earth. Billy thinks that the Tralfamadorians are an almost perfect species, as they live on a peaceful planet. This image of the Tralfamadorians is the image the Billy wants in his own life, with violence only taking place in a fictional setting, on another planet. However, Billy is not able to convince himself that a world without violence is possible, seen through the Tralfamadorians thinking his claim of them living in a peaceful society is stupid. To cope, he instead takes on the Tralfamadorians’ positive way of thinking. 

 

5. Symbol: so it goes 

Quote: “So it goes” (101) 

Analysis: Billy’s repeated use of the phare, “so it goes” reflects the impact that the Tralfamadorians had on his life. Billy says that it is a phrase the Tralfamadorians would say about dead people. This means Billy’s experience with them had shaped him int the person he is. It also symbolizes his need to move on from traumatic events to help relieve his guilt and sadness about the world. If he did not have the ability to move on so easily, he would be an unsuccessful soldier burdened with all the sadness in the war. 

 

6. Symbol: dead water 

Quote: “There was a still life on Billy’s bedside table – two pills, and ashtray with three lipstick-stained cigarettes on it, one cigarette still burning, and a glass of water. The water was dead. (101) 

Analysis: The description of Billy's beside table containing a glass of water late described as dead symbolizes Billy’s inability to completely move on, contrasting the symbolism of the phrase, “so it goes”. Although Billy puts a front of his personality to convey the message that he isn't saddened by death, this symbol reminds the reader that he still internally is unable to let go, reinforcing his humanity. 

 

7.  Symbol: Tralfamadorians knowing how the universe ends 

Quote: “‘We know how the Universe ends–’ said the guide, ‘and Earth has nothing to do with it, except that it gets wiped out, too.’” 

Analysis: Earthlings from the beginning have always thought of themselves as being the center of the universe and that God made them to be the most immaculate and high-power beings aside from God himself. This self-centered view has caused their judgement to be clouded by reality and the Tralfamadorians help Billy Pilgrim understand this by telling him that humans have nothing to do with the end of the Universe.  

symbol: water on Billy's table
quote: "Billy's bedside table- two pills, an ashtray, with three lipstick stained cigarettes in it, and a glass of water. The water was dead. So it goes."
analysis:
analysis: The "dead' water symbolizes how Billy is afraid of death and how the water is not moving, which represents it is calm, unlike how his life is.

symbol: The Grand Canyon
quote: "He was twelve years old, quaking as he stood with his mother and father on Bright Angle Point, at the rim of the Grand Canyon. The little human family was staring at the floor of the canyon, one mile straight down" (Vonnegut 89).
analysis: The Grand Canyon symbolizes the humanity of Billy's childhood. He looks down into it and fills with fear. He is especially scared after hearing how 3-4 people jump down every year. The Canyon shows how Billy has always been timid. 

Symbol: the end of the Universe 

Quote: “He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him the moment is structure that way,” (Vonnegut, 117).  

Analysis: This part of the book is talking about how the universe would end, and the Tralfamadore admits it is due to one of their test pilots. This explores the idea that nothing can be prevented nor should it. Everything has happened and will happen, and it is something that Billy must come to terms with. It also explores a self-destruction aspect, which is portrayed in Billy, who has been destroyed on the inside by humankind.  

2. 

Symbol: Coat with fur collar 

Quote: “It split up the back, and, at the shoulders, the sleeves came entirely free... They laughed and laughed.” (Page 90) 

Analysis: Billy is given a coat that is far too small for him. So small, in fact, that it breaks when he wears it, and he is mocked and laughed at when the coat doesn’t fit. It is also mentioned that Billy’s coat was the only one worn by a pedestrian rather than a soldier. All of this symbolizes Billy’s place in the war. Among all of the soldiers, Billy stands out as the “pathetic” one of the groups, or the odd one out, who belongs back home rather than on a battlefield. The coat, which could symbolize Billy himself, is too small, and tearing at the seams. It is covered in bullet holes. This is just how the war begins to tear at the seams of Billy’s mind, while the world mocks him and call him crazy.  

3. 

Symbol: Sci-Fi 

Quote: “So they were trying to reinvent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a big help.” (Page 101) 

Analysis: The relevance of Sci-Fi in the story reveals a bit about Billy’s mind, and symbolizes escapism that people experience when they are unhappy with the world. It is possible that the Tralfamadorian world is a way for Billy to cope with his past, because by believing that time is irrelevant, he can look past the countless tragedies and death that Billy has experienced in his life.  

4. 
Symbol: Curtains 

Quote: “Billy could not imagine how the curtain was supported in nothingness, and he supposed that the magic curtain and the theatrical grief were part of some religious ceremony he knew nothing about, "page 125 

Analysis: The fact the curtains are being held up by nothing may show that Billy was kind of left after the war without support, and furthermore, the message on the curtain reading, “please leave this latrine as tidy as you found it!” shows that the government basically did the bare minimum to help him out. It is also notable that the color of the paint used to write the message coming from the Cinderella show could connect Billy and the message on the curtain, as Billy is described to be Cinderella 

5. 

Symbol: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann 

Quote: “Billy asked for something to read on the trip to Tralfamadore. His captors had five million Earthling books on microfilm, but no way to project them in Billy’s cabin. They had only one actual book in English, which would be placed in a Tralfamadorian museum. It was Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann.” (Vonnegut 87) 

Analysis: Upon further research on Valley of the Dolls, which was mentioned in Chapter 5, the basis of the story is about three women in the entertainment industry who struggle to handle life as they become more and more addicted to drugs. Furthermore, the novel is noted to be very sad, because as the book progresses, the reader is made aware of the characters’ inability to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This is relevant to Slaughterhouse 5 because while comparing it to Billy’s story, the contrast of the two was ironic. Valley of the Dolls moves through time progressively, while Billy’s story differs since he moves through time in an unorganized and unpredicted fashion. Lastly, Billy refused to keep reading the novel, since it was going through “ups and downs”, and it was similar to his own story because both seem to be about ordinary people, who at the end of their lives, faced downfall. He wanted to read something cheerier in the face of what he was already dealing with, and it seemed to represent his current life. 

6. 

Symbol: Millepedes 

Quote: “And Tralfamadorians don’t see human beings as two-legged creatures, either. They see them as great millepedes-- ‘with babies’ legs at one end and old people’s legs at the other,’ says Billy Pilgrim.” (87). 

Analysis: Because the Tralfamadorians are able to see four dimensions, they can physically perceive the concept of time. Through this, they see everything differently, including where things have been, are, and will be, or the past, present, and future. By describing humans in this way, we can see how Billy’s life has been altered by learning the ways in which these extraterrestrials view the world. Lastlit symbolizes the concept of time within his life, and how he constantly alternates through different moments in his life. 

7.  

Symbol: Cinderella 

Quote: “Cinderella, the most popular story ever told,” (pg. 96) 

Analysis: Cinderella is a classic story that is told all over the world and has had huge cultural impacts. This production being put on in SlaughterHouse-5 could also show that the issues that veterans face is also universal and that the difference is that one is actually prominent, while the other has been ignored in the past and still is.  

8.  

Symbol: Tombstone 

Quote: “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt,” (page 122).  

Analysis: This is a quote from the artwork of a tombstone on page 122. I believe that it symbolizes the glorification of war, and the struggles of the soldiers to remain content after a war, because of the world’s perfect picture of them. They’re supposed to be strong in the face of great adversity, so they don’t feel like they can open up about their problems. Take Billy Pilgrim. He gets back from the war, after years of struggle and trauma, yet people scold him and laugh at him when he is obviously going through something. Because to them “nothing hurt.”