Slaughterhouse - Five Reading Entry Pages 136-153

Billy once again finds himself in the war in a latrine. He feels a magnetic impulse somewhere near, and finds the magnetism is coming from two objects inside his coat lining. One looks like a pea and the other resembles a tiny horseshoe. What is the author's purpose to mentioning this? Apart from when he tells Billy senses a message which tells him not to ponder on the objects, Vonnegut doesn't mentiion them again at all. It just leaves it hanging there, as if he just mentioned them because he felt like it. It left me wondering, what do these objects represent? Does the horseshoe perhaps have anything to do with luck? I hope the author will mention them in future chapters and hopefully shed some light on the subject because I'm stumped. Billy however, is once again sleeping on morphine. He is sleeping but doesn't travel through time. What made him feel the magnetic impulses? Was it, in some way, the Tralfamadorians? Maybe it was just the morphine kicking in, but who knows.



Billy had met two fellow Americans: Edgar Derby and Paul Lazzaro, another crazy guy who adores revenge and doesn't care for others, just like Weary. Coincidentally, Weary and Lazzaro were buddies in the cargo trains, where, just before he died, Weary told Lazzaro that he wanted Billy dead. Lazzaro gives Billy the warning, but he already knows, thanks to his time traveling abilities. Billy had visited his death many times. This scene might somehow show that Billy has these visions about things he really wants, his desires. Just before he is shot, he is giving a speech on time-traveling, on the mysteries of time, and saying goodbye. He is standing before a huge crowd, which loves him. Maybe that's all Billy wants, attention. He wnats to feel wanted and praised, as if he;d done something significant, in this case it would be revealing the mysteries of time. Maybe this was another dream where he is the center of attention and gets what he desires. What I don't get is why he is so indifferent to the fact that he is going to die and he accepts it. It reminds me of Camus' The Stranger, where Mersault knows he's going to die and he just accepts the fact that everyone is against him and he's alone in the world. If I knew when I was going to die, I would do anything possible to keep that from happening. However, maybe Vonnegut just wants to show that there are few things one has the power to change.