On Billy Pilgrim’s Identity In Slaughterhouse Five

Kurt Vonnegut is a preeminent novelist with great influence in the history ofAmerican literature. Vonnegut is skillful in integrating the science fiction elements,black humor and post-modern techniques into his writing, which trigger readers tothink about the history and human survival environment. His unique writing style andnarrative structure pose the immense effect on the younger writers’writing.Vonnegut has written quite a few works, the style of which range from novels,plays, prose and so forth. Among these works, Slaughterhouse Five is the mostwidely spread and famous one. This novel is based on Vonnegut’s personalexperience in the Second World War. The story revolves around the true historicalevent, the Dresden bombing. It depicts Billy Pilgrim’s experiences of time travelingduring the Second World War and his postwar lives with his trauma in the modernsociety and the Tralfamadore planet with his trauma. This thesis delves into BillyPilgrim’s identity changes in different living conditions: the battlefield, the family, theEarth and the outerspace and the reasons for these changes.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One introduces the backgroundinformation of Kurt Vonnegut, the profile of Slaughterhouse Five, literature review,the significance of research and the layout of the thesis.Chapter Two is divided into three sections. The first two sections explore theprocess of Billy Pilgrim’s marginalization from the battlefield to the family. Nomatter which role he plays, a soldier, a prisoner, a son, a husband, or a father, eachidentity change profoundly impacts Billy’s life. The third section focuses on thereasons why Billy becomes a disillusioned man.In Chapter Three, the first two sections attempt to probe into the process of BillyPilgrim’s alienation when he is traveling between the earth and the Tralfamadoreplanet. Treated as an animal on Tralfamadore, Billy shifts from a successful merchantto a psychopath. In this process, Billy is completely degenerated to an alienated“Other” both physically and psychologically. Section Three illustrates the reasons forBilly’s alienation. Billy’s indifferent attitudes towards life and death and his loss ofvoice finally make him an alienated individual in the modern society. Chapter Four makes a conclusion and restates the core idea of this thesis.Furthermore, it puts forward the limitations and possibilities of further study onSlaughterhouse Five.