This chapter revolves around Billy Pilgrim, a man who claims to have come unstuck in time. This causes him to pay random visits to different moments in his life with no set pattern or order of any sort. When asked, Billy says he began this traveling while fighting in World War Two. He had just begun college when he was deployed to the fighting front. Young and inexperienced he was simply thrust into the war. Although, he wasn’t exactly a soldier he found himself utterly lost in the midst of all the violence. As a result he joined three, lost American soldiers attempting to find their way back to safety. However, unequipped, young, naïve, and unprepared Billy struggles to keep up. In no time, the two most experienced soldiers desert the remaining two, Billy and Weary. Enraged, Weary blames Billy and proceeds to punch the living daily lights out of him. Weary pauses mid-kick because a curious German audience has gathered and on that note the chapter ends, leaving the reader in suspense.
This excerpt on the war is similar to the movie Full Metal Jacket. This movie is based on the Vietnam War, where young 19-year old men have been drafted into a brutal war. Wide-eyed and undertrained the inexperienced soldiers find themselves lost and disoriented, much in the same way that Billy finds himself. They trudged along because they had no other choice, yet unmotivated and clueless, they found it hard to survive. Billy Pilgrim has no desire to participate in the war and multiple times expresses his wish to simply die or as he puts it, “evaporate”. Evidently, war is no place for young men like Billy who have entire lives ahead of them, yet because of the conflict face imminent fear and possible death.
I like the short summary you made in the first half of the entry, adding your opinion here and there. Although I have never seen the movie you mention above, I can definitely see the connection between it and the chapter. I like the way you subtly critique society and war throughout the entry, and provide supporting details to prove your point.
ResponderEliminarI understand your connection to the movie Full Metal Jacket, but I´d like to extend it to say that in most movies about war, these youngsters find themselves fighting a war that isnt even theirs. Pride, patrotism, or preassure are some of the trends or causes which I have noticed to lure people into war.
ResponderEliminarAnother example to this point is mentioned by Vonnegut when he menions the Children´s Crusade. Honestly, how many of the supposed 30,000 children do you believe enrolled without any outside influence? I´d bet under 5%.
Lastly, I like your reflexion on young men and their awaiting lives, but I´d like to point out that was the war fought without young men, the losses would be uncalculable and more men would die by natural condiions, because there comes an age where health begiins to deteriorate.
I love how you write all of your blogs. You write them in a form that keeps the reader interested and wanting to read more. Like Yvette, I have not seen the movie either so it was easy for me to see the similarities between the movie and the chapter. Many bloggers write a summary of the blog and then their opinion, like myself, but you wrote a summary and added your opinions here and there. You voice your opinions in forms that the reader can understand and want to support you. Many people when they write blogs put in too much detail, but you only put in details when you need to. For example when you wanted people to understand your opinion on war, you put in supporting details so that they would understand fully what you were trying to say.
ResponderEliminar