Billy Pilgrim: His life out of War

In Chapter 3 of Slaughterhouse 5 we are brought to Billy's life after the war. Billy seems to be successful and happy in Ilium. His childhood home has been destroyed in the construction of new town buildings, but he shows no sadness to this event. The lack of emotion over this destruction shows another example of the Tralfamadorian's philosophy of  death being a moment in time, and that the person, or thing, is simply in bad shape. Billy clearly believes that his house has been in better shape, he does not see the "death" of both his home and childhood.

On page 59, Billy demonstrates that his is content with the demolition of his old home. "Billy drove through a scene of even greater desolation. It looked like Dresden after it was fire-bombed- like the surface of the moon. The house where Billy had grown up used to be somewhere in what was so empty now. This was urban renewal...That was all right with Billy Pilgrim."

Billy is clearly okay with the destruction of is home, as he sees, just as the Tralfamadorians, that the loss of someone or something is never gone, as it has exsisted in time before. While this is a logical reason for Billy to show no sadness or remorse over the desturction, perhaps there are other reasons for this lack of emotion. As we read more into the book, do you think that we will find more about Billy's childhood that could add another reason for his content with the demolition? 

Example Posts - Meets and Exceeds

The following are two posts that may serve as models for your own. These posts use The Grapes of Wrath as the considered text, but the requirements are the same. The first is an example of a post that MEETS the standard; the second is an example that EXCEEDS the standard.

Meets:

It became apparent in chapter 5 that the narrative of the Joad family is only one perspective of the struggles people faced in the 1930s. The use of racial slurs and culturally insensitive language reminds us that the Joads, although they are a poor family lacking many basic resources, they do have the privilege of being white. The use of the word "nigger" and the highly insensitive way of speaking about Native Americans remind us that whiteness was a privilege that could elevate the status of even the most desperate farmer.

I wonder how this theme of race and culture will continue to develop over the course of the novel. What will the presence of race and racism continue to teach us about the social fabric of the U.S. in the '30s?

Exceeds:

The description of the land in Chapter 5 tells us a lot about the tensions arising out of the industrialization of farming. The physical connection to the land is broken, and this seems to lead to a bigger gap that transcends the physical.

In chapter 5, we learn that the tractor driver "could not see the land as it was, he could not smell the land as it smelled; his feet did not stamp the clods or feel the warmth and power of the earth...Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses" (35, 36).

Humans are being replaced by machines, and these machines will never love and appreciate the land (and what the land provides) as much as the humans who farmed it with their own hands. I am curious to see how this theme continues to play out in the novel - will the divide between the human and the machine continue to grow, and will it cause the farmers' struggle to become increasingly bitter and devastating?

Notes:

• Please consider your grammar and spelling. These posts should be thoughtful and well-crafted. 
• As you can see, the posts need not be long. A few sentences, or a small paragraph or two is sufficient. Remember - quality over quantity! 
• Please title your post purposefully - your title should help give a heads-up about the content of your post.