Billy getting abducted

In chapter 4, Billy gets abducted by aliens. He's awake during the night and knows he's going to be abducted, but does nothing about it. Billy just starts drinking and waits for the aliens to come. Then once they show up, he goes outside and has the ship abduct him. Why does Billy just allow the aliens to abduct him?

Machines

When Billy is getting onto the plane that he knows is going to crash in chapter 7, Vonnegut narrates, "Tralfamadorians, of course, say that every creature and plant in the universe is a machine." (Vonnegut, 154). Why are living things considered machines to the Tralfamadorians? Do the Tralfamadorians consider themselves as machines too? Where did they get the idea of anything living being compared to machinery which is normally non-living? How can Billy except the idea that he is a machine so easily?

Secrets

During chapter 5, as Billy is honeymooning with his wife Valencia, "'...I get a funny feeling you're just full of secrets.' 'I'm not,'  said Billy. This was a lie, of course. He hadn't told anybody about the time-traveling he'd done, about Tralfamadore and so on." (Vonnegut, 121). I wonder why Billy would not share any of the strange things he has experienced. You would think he would feel the need to tell someone, especially his wife. If you were in Billy's position would you tell anyone, or keep it to yourself?

Vonnegut

Although in chapter one, Vonnegut seems to separate himself from Billy, letting us know that this book is not a direct story of what happened in his life, I can't help but feel like throughout the book Vonnegut keeps making personal connections. "It would make a good epitaph for Billy Pilgrim - and for me, too." (Vonnegut, pg.121) Who is this "me" that is being referenced? Is Vonnegut referring to himself?

Also, a few pages later we read the line, "That was I. That was me. The author of the book." (Vonnegut, pg.125) This is Vonnegut directly referring to himself in his text. Saying that was him. Which brings me to the question of, why is he bringing up real people/things in an obviously, fiction book? What point is he trying to get across or make by bringing himself up in the book? And I do know that this book is written in a different style than usual, but I just cant stop wondering about how closely related Billy and Vonnegut are and why Vonnegut brings himself up in the book.

Bugs in Amber

We have previously brought up the topic of "bugs in amber", so I would like to add to that. When Billy is once again captured by the tralfamadorians he simply asks them, "why me?". The tralfamadorian then responds by saying, "Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?" (Vennegut, pg.76-77) Then Billy says, "'yes', because he has a paperweight at his office which is a blob of  polished amber with three lady bugs embedded in it." (Vonnegut, pg.77) This really caught my attention because all of this time I thought of the term bugs in amber to have a much deeper meaning, to symbolize a much greater theme or lesson that we don't yet understand. But instead the tralfamadorians are just simply comparing a bug stuck in amber to Billy stuck in time. I did not expect it to relate directly to an object like a paperweight. Do you think that there still is a deeper meaning that hasn't been revealed yet?

Post #3 Week #3 Billy's Crying

Just after the bombing of Dresden when Billy and the other prisoners are being taken to the Russians in a horse and cart Billy starts crying once he sees what horrible condition the horses were in. "Billy hadn't cried about anything in the war" (Vonnegut, 197). I thought that this was strange because Billy was portrayed throughout the rest of the book very weak. I felt like he would have cried at some other time given the stress of being a prisoner of war. Why do you think Billy never cried? Do you think it had something to do with him already knowing everything that was to come? Do you think he felt bad because the horses were treated badly and after being treated badly as a prisoner he didn't want to treat another living thing like that?

Post #2 Week #3 The Books "Cycle"

I have recently finished reading the book. Towards the end I noticed Billy connecting and adding in objects from the beginning of the book. At the very end of the book Billy was in NYC at an adult book store and he was showed a picture. "It was a photograph of a woman and a Shetland pony. They were attempting sexual intercourse between two Doric columns, in front of velvet draperies which were fringed with deedlee-balls" (Vonnegut, 205). This picture was the same one that Weary had at the very beginning of the book. But this wasn't the only thing. Multiple times at the end of the book Billy said, "'If you're ever in Cody, Wyoming,' he told himself, 'just ask for Wild Bob'" (Vonnegut, 206). And I remember this from the beginning of the book too when Billy was in the war. I was wondering why Vonnegut would add little things from the beginning of the book into the end of the book?