Post 12

Slaughterhouse Nine is written in a circular pattern because it keeps alternating through Billy's life. The story also keeps alternating between his time as a prisoner of war in World War II, and multiple periods of his life after the war, such as his time captive on Tralfamador. Also in the first chapter at the end it says "It begins like this: Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time. It ends like this: Poo-tee-weet?" (Vonnegut 28), which shows the circular pattern and its lack of a strictly linear narrative by telling how it begins and ends. The overall structure of the novel is circular, but it is a bit erratic as there does not seem to be a pattern when the story is jumping around.

At first it does not seem that Billy matures much throughout the novel, as he remains his dim, clueless self, but after his time in the war he is committed to an institution because he is suffering from trauma from the war, and after his kidnapping by the Tralfamadorians he seems to overcome this with a new perspective on death. This seems to be catharsis for him as it allows him to be happy and not worry or fear about his death despite knowing exactly when it is going to happen. The jumping around from moment to moment could be a metaphor for having PTSD and flashbacks, and is what propels the story rather than character development, as there is no continuity between events due to the nature of it jumping about.