Horrors of War
This catastrophic World War II event, witnessed by Billy Pilgrim, resulted in the near-total destruction of a German city and the deaths of thousands of civilians.
Bombing of Dresden
Billy Pilgrim frequently experiences flashbacks and hallucinations, suggesting that he suffers from this mental condition caused by extreme wartime stress.
PTSD
In Slaughterhouse-Five, the Tralfamadorians view time as this, meaning all moments exist simultaneously.
a fourth dimension
This phrase, repeated throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, reflects the novel’s fatalistic view of death and the inevitability of suffering in war.
So it goes
Billy's belief that he is abducted by these extraterrestrial beings reflects his dissociation from reality, a coping mechanism for his wartime trauma.
The tralfamadorians
The Tralfamadorians claim that free will is an illusion, a view shared by this scientific field, which studies how brain activity determines choices before conscious awareness.
what is neuroscience