Many individuals suffer from PTSD, a disorder caused by stressful experiences in the past. It is an acronym for post-traumatic stress disorder. Many people are influenced by this disorder, causing them to suffer and be unable to live average lives. There are a few characters in the novel "Slaughterhouse Five" that show how the suffering of PTSD has affected their daily lives, provoking them to perform daily tasks. Billy Pilgrim is a character that suffers from many mental illnesses, one being PTSD. He primarily gets this from being in the War. It was said “A siren went off, scared the hell out of him. He was expecting the Third World War at any time.” (page 57) This quote is an example of the PTSD that the war gave Billy since his first thought when hearing the bell was that the next world war was starting. PTSD can be triggered by anything, in this case, it was the bell. Every time Billy heard that sound in the past it had an association with the war, so when he heard it again, war was his first instinct. Another example is when Billy witnesses a quartet sing and “Billy was emotionally racked again. The experience was definitely associated with those four men and not what they sang” (pages 175-176). …show more content…
Some people tend to overreact or underreact. Others may have a random burst of emotions. In this scene, Billy is going into a wagon that is being pulled by horses but before Billy gets in he “...saw the condition of his means of transportation, he burst into tears. He hadn't cried about anything else in the war.” (page 197) One of the reasons why Billy is crying is because this was his breaking point. Seeing the horses was probably not as traumatic as seeing your friends and soldiers die or suffer, but since he had kept his emotions and feelings in for such a long time this was his last straw. This is one example of how people with PTSD may not be emotionally stable and may experience random emotional