Chapters 9 and 10

"This was a boy who had flunked out of high school, who had been an alcoholic... He was all straightened out now"(189).

The beer can represents Robert's early troubles as a child. He spent time with the wrong people and he ended up an alcoholic with a criminal record. Robert then turned his life around and became a Green Beret.

Although a some people disagree, I believe that people can change. This is especially true for the younger people. They still have their whole life ahead of them, which gives them plenty of time to get their life in order.

"A German soldier with a flashlight went down into the darkness, he was gone a long time. When he finally came back, he told a superior on the rim of the hole that there were dozens of bodies down there"(214).

After the bombing of Dresden, the soldiers began to look for survivors and bodies of the victims. This particular soldier reveals the horror of war with his flashlight, finding many bodies.

Not many people truly understand the horrors that take place durring war. It is one thing to read about it in a textbook, but it is something entirely different to experience it first hand. This soldier shed light on the situation, and discovered what war really is.

Chapters 7 and 8

"The people who first got to the crash scene were young Austrian ski instructors from the famous ski resort below"(156).

Billy is the only survivor from a plane crash, but he is injured. A group of ski instructors arrived on the scene and save his life.

It is nice to see that even in a book about war, people still have kind hearts. It is often hard to see the good in humans, but moments like this help you realize that everyone is capable of good.

"They looked like a silent barbershop quartet"(178).

Billy is reminded of the guards on the day of the Dresden bombing by a barbershop quartet durring his eighteenth wedding anniversary. He connected the two through the way they both changed from expression to expression.

It seems to me that Billy is suffering from PTSD, which is common for war veterans. i do not believe that the government is doing enough to help those suffering from this condition. Soldiers come back from the war, and then no one is there to help them.

Chapter 6

"'Anybody ever asks you what the sweetest thing in life is-' said Lazzaro, 'it's revenge'" (139).

Lazzaro says that he will have everyone who wrongs him killed later in their life. This picture shows the crosshairs that the hitman he hires might use.

I disagree with what Lazzaro has to say about revenge. If everyone lived that way then the world would become a nightmare. It would be an endless cycle of people trying to get revenge on each other. If everyone could forget about the wrongs done to them then the world would be a better place.

Chapter 5

"Billy Pilgrim says that the Universe does not look like a lot of bright little dots to the creatures from Tralfamadore" (87).

This is a picture of stars at night as humans view it, small bright dots. Tralfamadorians see these universes where they are and where they are going. They see more than just the single point in time.

To me, Vonnegut is trying to show the ignorance of humans. The Tralfamadorians can see all time at once, while humans can only see the present. I think this does reflect how humans really are. They are very narrow sighted, and can never really see the whole picture.

" He always covered his head when his mother came to see him in the mental ward..." (102).

This picture shows me hiding under a blanket like Billy did when his mom came to the mental ward. He felt embarrassed because he felt that he had let his mother down by going crazy. Due to this, he hides his head in shame.

I think that this is a perfectly acceptable way to feel. Your parents put so much effort into raising you that if you turn out wrong they blame themselves. Billy just wants to hide his flaws so that his mom does not feel like a failure as a parent.

Chapters 3 and 4

"There were about twenty other Americans in there, sitting on the floor with  their backs to the wall, staring into the flames- thinking whatever there was to think, which was zero" (55).

The soldiers are in a terrible position being held by the Germans. They attempt to better their situation by zoning out while staring at a fire. It is better for them to think nothing than to worry about their situation.

Some people, like myself, worry too much about what is happening. Sometimes it is better to just let your mind relax, and then you can think about what to do. With a calm mind it is much easier to make good decisions to better your situation. A flame is flikkers back and forth making it easy to forget yourself.

The American fliers turned in their uniforms, became high school kids. And Hitler turned into a baby, Billy Pilgrim supposed" (75).

Billy Pilgrim's idea of time is turned upside down. After he hears the way the Tralfamadorian view of time he does not know what to think. Then he starts time traveling back and forth through time.

This makes me think about what life would be like with time travel. The world could be a much better place because disasters would be averted and everyone would live happier lives. Then again people would abuse this power for their own personal gain, hurting others.

Chapters 1 and 2

"You'll pretend you were men instead of babies, and you'll be played in movies by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne..." (14).

This picture shows a scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. It shows the gruesome reality of war instead of the heroic scenes in other movies. Mary would have wanted war displayed like this so that less would be fought because people are afraid of them.

Most movies and television shows display war as an entertaining and heroic thing. I do not think that it should be represented this way because it gives people the wrong idea. They think that it will be easy so they join the military. Then once they arrive  they realize that war is a terrible and horrific thing. If we were taught this at a young age then maybe we think twice before we declare war on another country.

"The soldiers' blue eyes were filled with a bleary civilian curiosity as to why one American would try to murder another one so far from home..." (51).

Vonnegut is trying to make fun of the fact that humans are always fighting each other for no reason. In this picture two hockey players are pointlessly fighting each other.

I believe that the world would be a much better place if everyone could resolve their differences by talking. Instead everyone fights and in the end we all lose. If we could work together everything would work more efficiently, and the world would be better off.