Tralfamadore

One of the more unique aspects I found about Slaughterhouse-Five was Billy Pilgrim’s flashbacks on Tralfamadore. Not only is he put on display like an animal at a zoo, he also has a relationship with Montana Wildhack, ultimately having a child with her on the planet. I was really interested in hearing what other people had to say about this, so I looked up an article called “The Psychiatrists were Right: Anomic Alienation in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five”. It was by Kevin Brown, and Brown thinks that Billy Pilgrim is very anomic, having no real social connections with the other characters in the novel. It’s only in Tralfamadore where Billy can escape this loneliness and become the center of attention. He can escape the realities of Earth and war and enter a new place where is loved and is part of a community. Brown also argues that Montana Wildhack pays Billy a similar sort of attention, making Billy in charge of everything that is going on “since Billy knows exactly  what to do on Tralfamadore”. This ultimately leads Billy and Montana’s sexual union and child.

Brown believes that this imaginary world of Tralfamadore makes Billy all the more egoistic because now that he has created this fictional world where all his needs are met, he ceases to try to connect with anyone any further. Billy isn’t the only one who experiences anomie. Many characters like Edgar Derby, Roland Weary, and even the Vonnegut in the novel himself experiences anomie (Vonnegut at the start of the novel tries to reconnect with people of the past by telephone). Vonnegut, Brown argues, wants readers to recognize how anomic alienation has manifested in today’s society after WWII and wants readers to examine their own lives. He hopes that Tralfamadore gives a good picture of a world where people can truly connect with each other.

This was definitely a fresh way to see Tralfamadore, and the idea of alienation today can very well be seen in today’s world. Many of us are much more individualistic, not having that sense of community values that was once cherished. We focus more on our own survival and trying to get through the next day. Of course there are charity and grassroots groups that help out communities, but many of us have just lost touch with the community. Vonnegut reminds us, through Billy, what it means to be alone and wants us to try to make true connections with people.