Kilgore Trout

In order to illustrate the devastating affects of war, Kurt Vonnegut afflicted Billy Pilgrim with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which caused him to become “unstuck in time” in the novel. Billy Pilgrim illustrates many symptoms of PTSD throughout the story. Vonnegut uses these Slaughterhouse Five negative examples to illustrate the horrible and devastating examples of war. The examples from the book are parallel to real life experiences of war veterans, including Vonnegut’s, and culminate

He creates an alien race, the Tralfamadorians, to help him cope with his feelings. The narrator gives multiple hints throughout the novel to indicate that this was all a figment of Billy’s imagination. Kilgore Trout is Billy’s favorite novelist, who often writes about subjects very similar to Billy’s experiences on Tralfamadore, with characters that look like Tralfamadorians and topics like two people being kept in a zoo being watched by aliens. This homogeneity

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a contemporary American author whose works have been described by Richard Giannone as "comic masks covering the tragic farce that is our contemporary life" (Draper, 3784). Vonnegut's life has had a number of significant influences on his works. Influences from his personal philosophy, his life and experiences, and his family are evident elements in his works. Among his "comic masks" are three novels: Cat's Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, and God Bless You, Mr