Motifs In Slaughterhouse-Five

The central conflict demonstrated throughout Slaughterhouse-Five is the challenge of telling an untellable story. While Vonnegut has difficulties writing about the atrocity that occurred, called the Dresden Bombing, he presents numerous motifs and symbols. These motifs and symbols compose the themes, lack of free will and the destructiveness of war. These themes work alongside one another to enhance the novel, along with intensifying the central conflict. As Vonnegut constructs Slaughterhouse-Five, he develops the themes, lack of free will and the destructiveness of war, with motifs and symbols to propose the complex ways he attempts to tell his indescribable story.

Vonnegut utilizes motifs and symbols to make the audience understand that

He does this in contrast to victorious stories of gallant heroes. The audience encounters the theme of the destructiveness of war, when we see that “when Billy saw the condition of his means of transportation, he burst into tears” (Vonnegut 197). His means of transportation were two horses; they are symbols of innocence and the destructiveness of war because like a lot of the young boys who were drafted in the war, the horses did not have a choice to not take part in the war. This is also the only time we see Billy cry. He is usually too emotionally detached to weep. Here, he cries because he can relate to the horses because they were both recklessly destroyed by the war. It makes the audience stop and think about how careless or indifferent one can be about others. This is interesting because in literature, horses are used to symbolize strength and courage. By giving them the opposite meaning, there is an emotional impact on the audience. The motif of starvation also demonstrates the destructiveness of war on young, innocent soldiers. In the book, Billy made “a gooey lollipop. He thrust it into his mouth. A moment went by, and then every cell in Billy's body shook him with ravenous gratitude and applause” (Vonnegut 161). There is childlike imagery in the diction “lollipop,” as candy can be attributed to children. In addition,

The motifs and symbols demonstrate the themes, lack of free will, and the destructiveness of war that Billy faces throughout the book. The themes build upon each other. They also serve as an advantageous method for Vonnegut to write about the bombing of Dresden. For example, Billy is constantly getting flashbacks to the war; moreover, he mirrors things he saw in the war to present day things in an attempt to strip away the trauma that is connected to them. Another thing that Billy Pilgrim does is he uses the Tralfamaforians to get away from his PTSD. Even if there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre, Vonnegut manages to write an emotionally detached story, showing the negative impacts of the war that simultaneously causes an emotional response from the