Slaughterhouse: So It Goes...

Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut

Finally...


Some sort of explanation as to the organization of the novel as well as the infamous phrase "So it goes." Vonnegut, like Billy Pilgrim, looks at time with the Tralfamadorian view; it is all one entity that can be viewed as a whole at any given time. Therefore, “There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time," (Vonnegut, 186). This quote explains the organization of Slaughterhouse Five better than anything that we have thus far discussed in class. Basically, it is saying that there is no organization to the story; it just is. Thus, the Tralfamadorian view of time is modeled throughout the structure and plot of the book. It explains why Billy is able to transport himself throughout time literally and also why Vonnegut is able to insert brief descriptions of events without introduction or conclusion, almost haphazardly. Also, the revelation of future events takes away from the "suspense" and the "cause" and "effect" of the plot of the story. In essence, the plot of the book just is. It tells a story, but it tells a story in its totality, with all viewed at once, because it is the way it was meant to be viewed.