Vulnerability

In chapter 3 Billy looks into the commanders boots to see Adam and Eve, in my interpretation of this, I see something quite unordinary. Billy is very vulnerable in the state he is in, everything he does he questions, he is not a fighter but he lives surrounded by people who fight. "Next to the Golden boots were a pair of feet which were swaddled in rags." (pg. 54)
Alone the feet are very vulnerable, alone without the protection of anything guarding them, alone Billy, Adam and Eve and even the feet are very easily disturbed. Adam and Eve stay in the garden of Eden because its easy to be safe, nothing will attack them or hurt them, so they think. But no one can stay out of the ever pressing thought of harm. Sometimes you have to go into the night, you have to be vulnerable, vulnerability can only be apparent if their is harm in your way, you have to take off your boots, so to say, and run towards the night, with bloody feet ready to fight, because next to something that is holy and protected, their is always something that can hurt you or get hurt itself. Billy walks towards danger with a slight tremble, in order to stay strong he needs to have that tremble, but he should never back away, he faces the tremble, induced with fear full on and keeps on pushing. Is Billy vulnerable in the state he is in, or does he have what it takes to be a fighter?

Escaping life

Through out the book so far, and especially in chapter two, I have notice the constant term in which time travel seems almost as if Billy is escaping his thoughts he lives with. The quote "Billy is spastic in time, he has no control over where he is going next, the trips aren't necessarily fun." Really seemed to stick with me because its telling us, these "episodes" (for lack of a better word) are almost an escape goat for his real life problems.
             He leaves the normality of life to find something more, he has seen so many thing, so many terrible things that he strives to find something real, something worth living for, time travel is where and how he reaches a sustainable scene full of chaotic and crazy adventures, in my opinion its where he feels comfortable, where he feels like he is at home. Going someplace new is a metaphor for leaving where he does not feel comfortable. The aliens and the unique scenes he described is the result of a vivid imagination. A vivid thought of where his mind should be. Take this as an example, when I am doing something that needs my complete and utter focus, anything that could possibly be a distraction turns out to be one. Billy's imagination is ruined by the distraction of everyday life, with everything that he does throughout his life being a distraction for what really matters, and thats what is in his brain. Is Billy fearful of whats in the future, whats around the corner, or what he has seen in the past?

So it Goes

There seems to be a pretty clear pattern in the story whenever someone dies, or when it's describing the death of someone. The same line "so it goes" appears everytime.

In chapter 5, when Billy was with the Tralfamadorians, one of the guides mentioned that they know how the universe ends. "'We blow it up, experimenting with new fuels for our flying saucers. A Tralfamadorian test pilot presses a starter button, and the whole Universe disappears.' So it goes" (117).

The Tralfamadorian claims that there is nothing they can do about it, because he always presses the button, and they'll always let him. It's how the moment is structered. So I was wondering if they're living in the past, or have they visited the future to know how it ends? They also inform Billy that the 'Earthlings' should learn to ignore the awful times and concentrate on the good ones. But how does one achieve that when there is a huge war going on with so many people dying? The Tralfamadorians don't have to deal with the war, but Billy does.

Jerry: The Man Responsible for All Misfortune

Chapter 5 gives us a peek into the lives of some well-off British prisoners in Germany during the war. They are nourished, optimistic and eager to share with the American soldiers, but very ignorant as far as their knowledge of the outside world.

A British man thinks that Billy's child-sized coat is ridiculous and unfair, calling it "...a deliberate attempt to humiliate you. You mustn't let Jerry do things like that" (98). 'Jerry' is the name that the British use to refer affectionately to the Germans.

Millions of people were cruelly generalized by Hitler and his subordinates, but hearing that practice be reversed is just as troubling. Perhaps those who use the term 'Jerry' are not fully aware of the damage that has been caused by 'him', or maybe they just take their safety and freedom for granted.

The man giving advice to Billy seems to think that he is a small and vulnerable child, which is not an unfamiliar feeling for Billy. However, the British, who have been given sufficient food and well-fitting clothing, have barely experienced the horrors of the war going on around them. They assume that obtaining a larger coat is as simple as asking for one. Why would the British believe that self-advocacy is the answer to all the other prisoners' problems? Are they extremely trusting, or completely oblivious?

Time Travel

As I was reading chapter 3, I came across this quote: "Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future" (60).

Since Billy 'time travels', wouldn't that mean that he CAN, in fact, change the past, present, or future in some way? Throughout the book, it's clear that he can time travel. He can travel to different sections of his life, and relive those moments. Because of this "ability" to go to different periods of his life, I can't help but wonder if Billy going back in time will change the past and the present. Or maybe towards the end of the book, it will all catch up to him.

Obedience of Those With No Other Choice

The dehumanization of soldiers in Chapter 4 shows us that mankind can be separated and united, and each is mighty in its own way.

When Billy Pilgrim and his comrades arrived at their destination, the German soldiers "peeked inside Billy's car owlishly, cooed calmingly. They had never dealt with Americans before, but they...knew that it was essentially a liquid which could be induced to flow slowly toward cooing and night" (80).

Comparing the prisoners to a liquid made them seem vulnerable. Metaphorically, they could be swayed and moved like liquid by the German soldiers, unable to resist. Humans are tiny, insignificant water droplets by themselves. In large numbers, however, they form rivers and oceans and can be extremely powerful. The passage made Americans sound like inanimate objects, or small children who didn't know anything about the world around them. What was the intention of the soldiers and their calming noises?

Example Posts - Meets and Exceeds

The following are two posts that may serve as models for your own. These posts use The Grapes of Wrath as the considered text, but the requirements are the same. The first is an example of a post that MEETS the standard; the second is an example that EXCEEDS the standard.

Meets:

It became apparent in chapter 5 that the narrative of the Joad family is only one perspective of the struggles people faced in the 1930s. The use of racial slurs and culturally insensitive language reminds us that the Joads, although they are a poor family lacking many basic resources, they do have the privilege of being white. The use of the word "nigger" and the highly insensitive way of speaking about Native Americans remind us that whiteness was a privilege that could elevate the status of even the most desperate farmer.

I wonder how this theme of race and culture will continue to develop over the course of the novel. What will the presence of race and racism continue to teach us about the social fabric of the U.S. in the '30s?

Exceeds:

The description of the land in Chapter 5 tells us a lot about the tensions arising out of the industrialization of farming. The physical connection to the land is broken, and this seems to lead to a bigger gap that transcends the physical.

In chapter 5, we learn that the tractor driver "could not see the land as it was, he could not smell the land as it smelled; his feet did not stamp the clods or feel the warmth and power of the earth...Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses" (35, 36).

Humans are being replaced by machines, and these machines will never love and appreciate the land (and what the land provides) as much as the humans who farmed it with their own hands. I am curious to see how this theme continues to play out in the novel - will the divide between the human and the machine continue to grow, and will it cause the farmers' struggle to become increasingly bitter and devastating?

Notes:

• Please consider your grammar and spelling. These posts should be thoughtful and well-crafted. 
• As you can see, the posts need not be long. A few sentences, or a small paragraph or two is sufficient. Remember - quality over quantity! 
• Please title your post purposefully - your title should help give a heads-up about the content of your post.