Saturday, June 23, 2012

I Wonder What Will Happen Next...


In Chapter 4, Vonnegut begins to hint at what would later happen to Billy on Tralfamadore. On page 77, Vonnegut foreshadows Billy's future with the quote, "The hold of the saucer was crammed with other stolen merchandise, which would be used to furnish Billy's artificial habitat in a zoo on Tralfamadore."
Hmm, I wonder what will happen next... Perhaps Billy will be placed in a zoo on Tralfamadore. However, since the Tralfamadorians are not typical beings, the zoo probably won't be a typical zoo. I mean, if they are furnishing his home with other random stolen merchandise from Earth, he probably will be living with a bunch of mix-matched items that he has no idea what to do with. Although, my guess is that he will live like a regular human while the Tralfamadorian zoo go-ers stare and wonder how strange a race we truly are. They will probably laugh at the stupidity of Billy while he wonders what to do with himself.
That's just my guess anyways. With all the other material that has happened so far in Slaughterhouse-Five, it certainly wouldn't surprise me if Vonnegut went that route. However, Vonnegut foreshadowed the zoo for a reason. Perhaps he wants the reader to think that Billy will be a typical zoo animal, but that will not actually be the case. Perhaps he wants the reader to imagine Billy living like a zebra while the Tralfamadorians watch behind the glass and eat cotton candy. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. My mind is just running with possibilities of what will happen to Billy in the zoo. Vonnegut included the zoo to encourage the reader to develop possibilities, and I am now extremely anxious to find out just what will happen. Good job, Vonnegut. Now I have to read to find out.

1 comment:

  1. Nice job Lucas! I remember reading the quote about Billy's future and being puzzled as that was an odd and random detail to place in the text. After finishing the book, it hit me that Vonnegut was forshadowing what will happen to Billy on Tralfamadore. I especially liked your analysis of how Vonnegut leaves the reader guessing about what this could mean and what will happen.

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