Free Will

"If I hadn't spent so much time studying Earthlings", said the  Tralfamadorian, "I wouldn't have any idea what was meant by free will. I've visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I had studied reports on one-hundred more. Only on earth is there any talk of free will." The aliens think everything is predetermined and they have no control over their own lives. They point out how this is unique to humans. Billy thinks about this and if people really have free will, and if they do, how can they do such terrible things like the war that he was in. Billy brings up a valuable question about if people do really have free will. And if we do, do we control our lives? Do we control our own destiny? Or, is everything planned out for us? Past, present and future.

Dreams

Billy has lots of dreams and or hallucinations. PTSD could explain his time-travels and meeting aliens. "When Barbara left, slamming the door behind her, Billy traveled in time to the zoo on Tralfamadore again." (132). When billy closes his eyes and begins to drift off into sleep is when he experiences time-traveling.

Time-travel

Now Billy closes his speech as he closes every speech - with these words: "Farewell, hello, farewell, hello." (142). He is referencing his time travel and how he is there in that moment in time and then is gone and then back again.

Delusions

There have been at least three characters in the book that have had some form of hallucinations or delusions. Billy, Weary and Wild Bill. Billy and Weary were in the creek bed when BIlly had a hallucination. "Billy Pilgrim went on skating, doing tricks in sweat-socks, tricks that most people would consider impossible - making turns, stopping on a dime and so on. The cheering went on, but its tone was alerted as the hallucination gave way to time-travel.". They are having these hallucinations because of the tragic things that have been going through and all the near death experiences are making them go mad.

Lack of Brotherhood

Throughout the war, we see a lack of brotherhood among the American prisoners. An example of this is when the prisoners are on the boxcar and Billy Pilgrim is trying to find a place to sleep. As he tries to lay down other prisoners tell him "Not with me you son of a bitch" and to "get the hell out of here." (78) This hostility towards fellow comrades is surprising, seeing that they're on the same team and going through the same struggle.

Billy's Happiness

Billy seems unthrilled by every part of life. He goes through life with little desire to live and carry on, and could care less what happens to him. This is shown when Billy is being kept by the Tralfamadorians. He is kept in captivity in a zoo, on display with no escape, yet his happiness remains unchanged. When asked if he was happy, his answer was "About as happy as i'd be on earth." (114) You'd think that someone kidnapped from their planet and taken away from their family and friends would at least show a little change in happiness, but Billy stays content, his mood unchanged.

Epigraph

The epigraph reads: "The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes. But the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." The only other mention of the epigraph comes on page 197, as Vonnegut uses his own voice to reason why this was included. He says that Billy cried very little even though he saw many things worth crying about, and in that respect he resembled the Christ of Carol. I think it is interesting that Billy often cried due to not seeing the point in living, but he would not cry after horrific experiences like the bombing of Dresden. It seems that those times where he earned the right to weep, he would not.
Do you see a connection between Billy Pilgrim and the Christ of Carol?