Slaughter House Five

Is government necessary for the existence of peace?In the context of Vonnegut’s Slaughter House, we must first define what is meant by “Government.” There is a reason the novel’s first draft was titled “The Children’s Crusade, A Duty Dance with Death.” The satirical element in the book comes into play with the fact that war is inevitable, yet as “easy to stop as a glacier,” (3). The ones who are to do the actual fighting are innocent children—ones who resemble Billy Pilgrim. There is a constant conflict in the novel, whether it be from the bombs that engulf Dresden in flame or the social strain Billy’s accident and his Tralfamadorian travels have created between him and his family. There really isn’t a lot of peace. Billy has a moral conscience which governs him; he weeps at the sight of two broken mares after the bombs have fallen. He could have stopped his death if he had wanted to. He knew his appearance in Times Square would bring bloodshed. But why not act? The tralfamadorians realize the world will end in a catastrophe yet do nothing to prevent this horrible fate. It would have been easy for Billy to evade the bullet—as easy as stopping a glacier perhaps. Yet he chooses not to, realizing time is forever and what happened is lodged in a sort of eternal memory bank. He can relive any moment in his life. I suppose we can interpret government to mean Billy’s conscience in this context. Influenced by Tralfamadorian theory, the innocent and child-like Billy crusades for no cause. There is no reason to stop the glacier, even if it is easy. Impending death does not scare Billy or the aliens—and rightfully if time travel is possible. Billy’s conscience tells him to accept the inevitable—which he does. It creates a kind of peace within him, yet also external conflict with others. If he does nothing, there is conflict, yet if he acts, there is still conflict. Government is a neutral force in this novel. AS confusing as it is, government contributes very little (if nothing at all) to the existence of peace.