Symbolism In Slaughterhouse Five

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A brilliant and unique blend of science fiction and historical fiction, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five brings to attention the issues of war and the human mind through the experiences of Billy Pilgrim, a mentally scarred World War II veteran. This passage details one such experience, where Pilgrim, with his mind addled by morphine, dreams of giraffes in a garden. Vonnegut utilizes the symbolism of the giraffes accompanied by an allusion to Pilgrim’s inferred mental instability, which is exhibited throughout the book, to convey the feelings of isolation and the longings for companionship that develop as a result of a damaged mind. By understanding the troubled state of Billy’s mind, one can begin to understand the dreams and visions that are a direct consequence of Billy’s mental complications.

Although seemingly random and erratic, the giraffes in Billy’s dream represent his …show more content…
It appears that while a major portion of Billy’s mind longs to fit in, a fraction of his mind, symbolized by the hard pear, opposes this yearning and retaliates in the dream. Vonnegut writes that the pear “fought back against his grinding teeth. It snapped in juicy process.” After the witnessing the worst of humanity, a portion of Billy’s mind is determined to seclude Billy from society. Even in his dream world, Billy’s mind is still unable to harmonize itself, keeping him in a state of mental conflict and as a result, Billy remains isolated. This clash between Billy and the pear in his dream is an allusion to Billy’s mental disorder. Although never explicitly stated, the prevailing opinion, based off of Vonnegut’s descriptions, is that Billy’s mental illness is a form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that was seemingly caused by his experiences in the war. In an effort to overcome his PTSD, Billy becomes more reclusive and withdrawn, resulting in his eccentric thoughts and
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