Slaughterhouse 5

Question: How does one become an “insider” or “outsider?”
So, time travel… Obviously a technology that we all wish we
could utilize and yet no one has been able to as of yet. Kurt Vonnegut picks a
protagonist named Billy Pilgrim to represent a man who has the ability to
re-visit instances in his life as well as travel to an alien planet called Tralfamadore.
Both of these aspects of pilgrim’s make-up help him become an “insider” on a mental
level and an “outsider” on a physical level. First off, the ability to look
back on instances in his life… Most of us struggle remembering things that’s happened
over one year ago unless it is a very major event. This means we are ignorant
of many of the things that have taken place, thus making us “outsiders” to the
truth. Billy is always able to be influenced by these past experiences, allowing
him to make the best decision in every situation. That would be the definition
of an “insider.” Now, on to Tralfamadore. In my opinion this is a very
controversial aspect to the novel because it isn’t clear what the purpose of
Billy’s experiences on it were. Possibly just Vonnegut showing that the
protagonist in his novel is crazy? I believe rather that it Vonnegut giving
Billy the gift of seeing the future because the inhabitants resemble the path
humanity is currently on. The last chapter of Slaughterhouse Five describes
how the aliens are changing. Once again, now Billy has the ability to see a
frame of time that no one else can, which makes him become an “insider.” Now,
it is also important to understand that the story is not completely happy for Slaughterhouse
Five’s Protagonist. As a matter of fact, I believe that Billy’s advantage
as an “insider” turns him into an “outsider” in society because no one can have
the advanced knowledge that he possesses.