Chapter 9: Slaughterhouse-Five

I was overall disappointed by Slaughterhouse-Five's ending. I was expecting to find out by the end who was the narrator and what was his relationship to Billy Pilgrim, how Billy had become unstuck in time and why, all these questions I was anxiously waiting to get answered and when I began the last chapter I was so excited to find out who that narrator was! The final chapter did pull the entire story together by bringing up the characters first mentioned in the beginning. Looking back to the first chapter the author did mention many of the important characters, the reader does not know what these random names have to to with the plot but I think it was a good way to make an introduction. In the first and last chapters the narrater talks about himself in the first person and he mentions himself a few time during the rest of the story but I still don't know how he could get into Billy's mind and know when he was time travelling and where to. At first I thought that the narrator must then be Billy Pilgrim and he was using a very strange way to describe his experiences but that was not possible since in the sixth chapter when the narrator mentions himself the says that someone behind Billy had spoken and then tells us that that was him.

One thing that left a strong impression on me was the poem on Montana's locket, the same poem that Billy had on his office wall. It was a very strange coincedence. I think that the poem binds them especiall in their interesting situation. They are both in Tralfamadore and all they have is eachother, I think that the key line in the poem is "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..." because they are stuck in Tralfamadore all alone and they are making the best they can of their circumstances. I think that the poem applies very strongly on Billy's life because of all the obstacles that have been thrown in his way. Sometimes he has not been able to fulfill the poem but I think it is both Billy's and Montana's driving force and pulls them closer because of yet another similarity of opinion.

I was very let down by the book's ending because of all the unanswered questions that I will never find out. I think that the author should have included explanations because I'm still puzzeled as to why Billy time travels and if he relives a scene of his past can he do something to change a bad event that he knows is going to happen? Can he alter the outcome of his future or does he just repeat certain events in his life. I also don't understand how Billy can still time travel after he has been shot, does that mean that he is immortal? I think that the authors message is really that as long as memories live even a a deceased person is alive, just like the fourth dimension but he showed it in an extravagant confusing way. I prefer more straight-forward books but, Slaughterhouse-Five had good content and was intriguing and captivating, but I was extremely dissatisfied with the ending, it ruined the book for me!