Billy Is A Dog

Jim Harrison and Jack Underwood are two completely different authors who share one thing in common; their poems involve a connection with animals. Jack Underwood writes how he does not care too much about the animals which is the poem called “Totem Pole” as he hunts them and then mentions “to appraise my work only” (Underwood). Jim Harrison writes the poem called “Man Dog” in which the main character cares for his animal so much that he even pretends to act like his animal. In both poems we experience the authors writing in first person and expressing a somewhat somber mood. Jim Harrison and Jack Underwood are both able to connect through animals and through the use of emotions as well as a deeper connection we see how two different poems

Billy Pilgrim is the person that the book is written around. We follow him, perhaps not in a straight order, from his youth joining the military to his abduction on the alien planet of Tralmalfadore, to his older age at his 1960s home in Illum. It is his experiences and journeys that we follow, and his actions we read about. However, Billy had a specific lack of character for a main one. He is not heroic, he has very little personality traits, let alone an immersive and complex character. Most of the story is written around his experiences that seem more like symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from his World War Two days, combined with hallucinations after a brain injury in a near-fatal plane

Billy is innocent in a sense that he has done no wrong which leads to his blind and naïve view of evil. The Dankster tries to warn Billy that ‘nobody’s friend is Jimmy-Legs’ and by saying ‘he is down on you’ but he does not see Claggart to be a threat of any sort. Billy’s innocence and devotion to good do not let him see the evil in Claggart whom is trying to destroy him but eventually conflict resulting in the murder of Claggart from a blow by Billy.

A blizzard with deafening roars of wind and whitening snow settled in and Billy’s dogs were no where to be found. Even though the group wanted to head back to camp, Billy kept looking for his dogs and used determination with a little help with people from the camp to obtain his dogs back. The theme, determination, helped Billy numerous amount of times to save someone from getting hurt or killed in the novel.

A reason for Billy being so unattached would be PTSD. PTSD leaves people feeling alone and depressed. He is having flashbacks of parts of his life and at the end of the book he is reliving his moments during the war.

When Billy first met Old Bill in the early chapters of the book, it happened to be his birthday which he decided to celebrate with a bottle of beer. Billy describes old Bill as a man is his late forties with long messy hair and a grey beard stained with smoke. Old Bill gives Billy a bitter welcome to the Brendarat Hilton,(the train yard) and says "I've been here since March 2nd 1994. May your stay be as long if you wish." Then Billy shivers as he watches the sunrise. Seeing old Bill for himself makes Billy realise the real effects of homelessness, how a man in his forties can look 20 years older, how he is alone

First, in chapter 2 it says, “I was in bed one night trying to figure out a way I could get some dogs...” This shows the theme because Billy is not giving up on getting his dogs. Also because Billy is thinking about something he can’t go a while without thinking about, just like the quote states.

Billy has lost a sense of love as death has faced him in the eyes once too many. Billy deals with his pain by turning to alcohol abuse, he cannot deal with his mourning, "Sometimes it's not as if they have died so much as that I myself have died and become a ghost." (43). From Dolores and Billy, the central theme is slowly revealed.

In the novel Love That Dog by Sharon Creech there are many allusions to old poems that the teacher has read and discussed with the class. There are many poems the teacher has read, but these are the ones that we chose. All of the poems the teacher has shared with the class the book alludes to them. To start, the author used allusions to show how Jack's parents like him and how Jack likes his dog.

With this description, Vonnegut vastly distances Billy from the ideal, strong and mighty image of a soldier, yet Billy is a soldier nonetheless. Not only is this weak and ungracious character fighting and representing the honour of his country but also he is one of the few soldiers who survive the war; he outlives many of the other soldiers that could be considered better suited for war. Furthermore, Vonnegut compares Billy to a filthy flamingo, highlighting the distance that exists between society's soldier ideal, graceful and admirable, and the soldiers' reality, harsh and rampageous. In short, Billy is so far from what is expected that he “shouldn't even be in the Army” (51). However, Billy is not the only soldier in this ludicrous predicament. Vonnegut describes the entire Army as chaotic, confused and ludicrous:

From controversial events to ordinary life stories, Billy Collins writes about various topics in different perspectives just like a chameleon, changing its colors to fit with its surrounding. Collins talks in a gentle, yet humorous way; he illustrates a profound understanding through a clear observation. His writing style blends humor and solemnity in one entity. Throughout his poetry, Collins demonstrates, in a witty and satirical voice, his insightfulness towards the objects, using numerous poetic devices, especially allusions and metaphors to effectively convey his messages, most of which revolves around the theme of death.

When he tells Billy that he needs to figure it out and snap out of it, Billy says, “ You guys go on without me. I’m all right” (Vonnegut 47). This just displays the hopelessness in Billy’s life. The war has driven him to lose touch with himself and not value his own life. This makes it very easy for a reader to feel empathy for Billy and get an idea of how war can really affect these men. Billy isn’t the only character that Vonnegut uses to depict the terrors of war.

During his stay at mental hospital he would bed next to a former infantry captain, Eliot Rosewater, where Rosewater would introduce him to the science novelist Kilgore Trout. Through the stories by Trout, Billy read about aliens and time traveling. From these ideas, influenced by Trout, Billy was able to make up his own stories and correlate them to his personal war experiences.

Bill Sikes is a barbarous burglar and Fagin’s partner in crime. He is portrayed as a rough brutal man who enjoys having control over others. Bill Sikes is abusive, aggressive and is likely to have sudden heated episodes. He owns a dog named Bull’s eye which he treats poorly, and at some point, tries to drown. He is ferocious and seems to be very impassive, as he doesn’t care whether he hurts someone.

First of all, look who it’s written by. James Hogg the shepherd. In his biography, he states he has a dog named Sirrah. If I remember correctly, that name cannot be confused with Billy. Yeah he might have another dog, but James would’ve at least mentioned him.