Slaughterhouse: Flashforwards

Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut

Lucas Jacob used a term in one of his blogs that I thought perfectly described the type of foreshadowing used by Vonnegut in this book: flashforward. The term makes sense because all these visions show something that is yet to happen. It is more than foreshadowing because these events are certain to happen; they are not merely hints of what might occur. These flashforwards are part of the crazy organization of Slaughterhouse Five, which is full of random jumps through time. Throughout most of the time describing Billy's involvement in the war, he flashes forward to his optometry career following his return home from the war. Also, Billy uses these flashforwards to describe events that will occur to other characters in the story. This reflects his ability to see time, and the lives of others, as one span as well. "Derby wouldn't [survive the war]. That good body of his would be filled with holes by a firing squad in Dresden in sixty-eight days," (Vonnegut, 83).

These flashforwards are to the reader what spoilers are to the movie-goer. We are told what is supposed to happen, yet we cannot stop ourselves from continuing to see if it actually happens. Because we are only briefly into the book, we cannot tell whether or not the flashforwards are actually real, but the previous knowledge of the Tralfamadorians leads us to believe that they hold some basis. Oh well, I guess we'll find out!