In this chapter, Billy Pilgrim experiences death. After dying, he comes to back 1945, after being threatened by Lazzaro.
I am curious about when will Billy Pilgrim definitively die, or, if he'll definitively die at all.
I don't think that Billy will live forever. Although time was be circular, You'd have to eventually seize to exist.
As I heard before in a documentary about vampires; being immortal is a gift and at the same time a curse.
If you could live forever, moments would loose their importance. Life would be worthless because you don't have to worry about doing anything. You could do it at any time, later on your life. Being immortal would be great at first, hence you never got old and so on, but you'd become lonely and depressive in the future, when you'd stop appreciating life.
Clearly, this isn't the case with Billy because he doesn't live forever. He lives his life over and over in disorder.
As cruel, or thoughtless as it sounds, I wouldn't be able to live as billy does. Being born as a normal human, and then changing your whole life onto the "living forever". I'd probably end up killing myself since this concept is still way to big for me to understand.
(according to this time concept, it would be useless to kill yourself because you would go back to some other place in life. To continue living forever. Maybe there is not a way out of this problem and that would be the worse of all. Not wanting to live, and being forced to.)
I honestly hope for a twist in the story. Either billy is able to alter his future, or his time travel stops. Until then, I will try to concentrate more on the other parts of the story (such as war).
Maybe, Vonnegut is trying to teach us to see every moment on the book as Billy is forced to see it. Without thinking on what will happen next or what will billy experience during his next time travel.
I admire Vonnegut for being able to create this concept of time. Although I found some inconsistencies, like the one I mentioned on my previous blog. Inventing a whole new idea of time means inventing a whole new idea of observing reality.
I think that this may relate to how he feels towards life. Maybe, there are moments he wants to re-live or maybe, he is afraid of death and would rather be unstuck in time.
martes, 24 de febrero de 2009
Slaughter House- Five (chapter 5)
As I was reading the fifth chapter, I came up with a question that I haven't been able to answer yet.
Billy Pilgrim was abducted in 1967. From that moment on, he started having these time travels back and forth through his life. What puzzles me is that he has gone from the present to the future. To a future, which he hasn't even lived yet.
This is a very strange concept, even with the tralfamadorians' believes. How are you going to travel to the future in which you haven't even been yet? I mean, according to the idea of a written destiny and circular timing, you could. But, what are you supposed to do if you travel to a place that you've never been before. How do you know what has happened? How do you know what has changed in the world?
This is different than going to the past, where you've already been and know at least partially what is going on. Unless Billy "teleported"as a spectator of his own life, which I don't think happens, he is presented to the world of the unknown every time he goes into the future he hasn't lived yet.
One theory I have is that he becomes the person in the future, which means he already knows everything that has happened, even though he technically hasn't experienced it. Yet, this doesn't make sense at all. How are you going to become another "version" of yourself and at the same time feel comfortable with your life? This would be as if somebody else has lived your life for you and you are just taking his place onto repeating whatever he has already done.
On the other hand, if he is the same person all along, how does he know what to do?
In every way I see it, Billy Pilgrim has been cursed. Although I understand the idea of living the moment that is exposed in the book and I support it. The point of this motto is living YOUR moment, not living a moment, or someone elses moment; as I suspect Billy does when he goes to the future that he hasn't even planned for himself.
Billy Pilgrim was abducted in 1967. From that moment on, he started having these time travels back and forth through his life. What puzzles me is that he has gone from the present to the future. To a future, which he hasn't even lived yet.
This is a very strange concept, even with the tralfamadorians' believes. How are you going to travel to the future in which you haven't even been yet? I mean, according to the idea of a written destiny and circular timing, you could. But, what are you supposed to do if you travel to a place that you've never been before. How do you know what has happened? How do you know what has changed in the world?
This is different than going to the past, where you've already been and know at least partially what is going on. Unless Billy "teleported"as a spectator of his own life, which I don't think happens, he is presented to the world of the unknown every time he goes into the future he hasn't lived yet.
One theory I have is that he becomes the person in the future, which means he already knows everything that has happened, even though he technically hasn't experienced it. Yet, this doesn't make sense at all. How are you going to become another "version" of yourself and at the same time feel comfortable with your life? This would be as if somebody else has lived your life for you and you are just taking his place onto repeating whatever he has already done.
On the other hand, if he is the same person all along, how does he know what to do?
In every way I see it, Billy Pilgrim has been cursed. Although I understand the idea of living the moment that is exposed in the book and I support it. The point of this motto is living YOUR moment, not living a moment, or someone elses moment; as I suspect Billy does when he goes to the future that he hasn't even planned for himself.
domingo, 22 de febrero de 2009
Slaughter House-Five (chapter 4)
The moment simply is...
At this moment, the notion of time has been completely destroyed. Originally, I thought that the objective of these time-travels was to return to the present(or the latest event you experienced)with more knowledge.
There are two things that go against this, first of all, because Billy Pilgrim already died, as the author expressed in the beginning of the second chapter. Second of all, because this time travels wont stop.
Probably, Billy will finally learn to appreciate the present all the time. The theory proposed by the Tralfamadorians is that there is no thing such as cause and effect. It is always the present. The past and the future become the present since there is nothing that made you be here (at the moment) and whatever you do will always end with you being stuck in a different present, totally unrelated to your previous actions.
(I am talking about everything after his experience with the Tralfamadorians, not before.)
There are many questions left unanswered, like for instance, doesn't this mean that you are immortal? that you are stuck forever in a present that has no consequences? Again, the only thing left to do is living the moment.
At this moment, the notion of time has been completely destroyed. Originally, I thought that the objective of these time-travels was to return to the present(or the latest event you experienced)with more knowledge.
There are two things that go against this, first of all, because Billy Pilgrim already died, as the author expressed in the beginning of the second chapter. Second of all, because this time travels wont stop.
Probably, Billy will finally learn to appreciate the present all the time. The theory proposed by the Tralfamadorians is that there is no thing such as cause and effect. It is always the present. The past and the future become the present since there is nothing that made you be here (at the moment) and whatever you do will always end with you being stuck in a different present, totally unrelated to your previous actions.
(I am talking about everything after his experience with the Tralfamadorians, not before.)
There are many questions left unanswered, like for instance, doesn't this mean that you are immortal? that you are stuck forever in a present that has no consequences? Again, the only thing left to do is living the moment.
Slaughter House - Five (chapter 3)
“GOD GRANT ME
THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT
THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
COURAGE
TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND WISDOM ALWAYS
TO TELL THE
DIFFERENCE”
(Pg 60)
I am beginning to feel sorry for Bill. From this quotation I understand that Billy is unable to control his time travels and that must severely affect you. To the point of insanity, I would say. Something as big as traveling through time and space must be hideous if you cant either control it, nor change the events on your life to change your whole life.
He suffers because he gets the "chance" to change his life but he cants. He has to re-live his suffering again in many cases and most importantly, he cant reach stability. Stability is crucial to be happy in life. To rest in peace.
As for what the quote says, I disagree. I've always believed that you can alter your life and you will if you try. Clearly, you are affected by anything other people do and this makes it challenging, but in the end it all comes down to you. TO live the moment and chase your desires. So it goes...
THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT
THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
COURAGE
TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND WISDOM ALWAYS
TO TELL THE
DIFFERENCE”
(Pg 60)
I am beginning to feel sorry for Bill. From this quotation I understand that Billy is unable to control his time travels and that must severely affect you. To the point of insanity, I would say. Something as big as traveling through time and space must be hideous if you cant either control it, nor change the events on your life to change your whole life.
He suffers because he gets the "chance" to change his life but he cants. He has to re-live his suffering again in many cases and most importantly, he cant reach stability. Stability is crucial to be happy in life. To rest in peace.
As for what the quote says, I disagree. I've always believed that you can alter your life and you will if you try. Clearly, you are affected by anything other people do and this makes it challenging, but in the end it all comes down to you. TO live the moment and chase your desires. So it goes...
Slaughter House-Five (chapter 2)
I wasn't expecting that kind of twist in the story. At first I was ready to face a boring, monotonous novel based on war but I turned out to be completely wrong. The story is now about a guy named Billy Pilgrim who has the ability to time travel though not at his will.
Anyone musst find you crazy, if you said that you are able to time travel. As I read this chapter I found a connection with a movie called The butterfly Effect. In this movie, the main character learns to manipulate his destiny by going back to the past and changing specific events.
I've always been intrigued by the mysteries of life. For instance, knowing that whatever I do right now has and will have a different effect on the world and I wouldn't be here witting this, I for instance, I would've gotten up earlier, or I would've decided to take a nap.
If you'd posses the ability to travel through time, life would have completely different purposes. For instance, we are not supposed to see Billy's life as a proggresion of events. We have to focus in him, and how he becomes, being affected by events without any specific order.
I hope that by the end of the novel, Billy learns to control this ability at will...
Anyone musst find you crazy, if you said that you are able to time travel. As I read this chapter I found a connection with a movie called The butterfly Effect. In this movie, the main character learns to manipulate his destiny by going back to the past and changing specific events.
I've always been intrigued by the mysteries of life. For instance, knowing that whatever I do right now has and will have a different effect on the world and I wouldn't be here witting this, I for instance, I would've gotten up earlier, or I would've decided to take a nap.
If you'd posses the ability to travel through time, life would have completely different purposes. For instance, we are not supposed to see Billy's life as a proggresion of events. We have to focus in him, and how he becomes, being affected by events without any specific order.
I hope that by the end of the novel, Billy learns to control this ability at will...
jueves, 19 de febrero de 2009
Slaughter House-Five (chapter 1)
Slaughter House-Five (chapter 1)
I must say that this first chapter was confusing. First of all because it wasn’t narrated in order. Instead, the author went back and forth from past to future, and sometimes he talked about the present. I see this first chapter as an introduction to the book rather than a part of the novel itself. But I’d say that this “preface” was written after the whole book because of what it says at the very end.
“This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt. It begins like this:
Listen:
Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck this time.
It ends like this:
Poo-tee-weet?” (page 22)
Evidentially, the second chapter starts with those words and the very last words of the book are “Poo-tee-weet?”
This kind of writing reminds me to Cien Años de Soledad, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez because it uses a circular time-frame. You can see that Vonnegut writes in disorder because he talks about events that don’t follow each other, and yet you don’t really know when is he talking about what time. At first it all seems confusing but I am guessing that later in the book it all connects in ways that result very intriguing.
Another example of how time functions on this novel is with the sentence “so it goes”, at the end of every death which makes connects all deaths and in a way, separates them from the narrative as if there were facts supporting the war, or massacre. Yet, the effect I get from reading this words is a doubt on the validity of the facts. As if he was inventing stories to make his “poor” book more interesting.
I have a feeling that the author might suffer from Amnesia or Schizophrenia and this will affect how the story develops…
martes, 10 de febrero de 2009
What is a Blog?
A. What is the difference between a blog and a book?
The biggest difference between a blog and a book is that a blog is short and consise while a book is longer and has more details. A blog is something more casual than a book and is intended to be to show an opinion as fast as it can while the book offers broader analisis and requires more thinking. With blogs you can find many related sources easily as opposed to with a book. A blog is simply, a way to communicate that meets the modern demands.
B. How have blogs changed recently?In the past blogs used to lack information. They were mostly comments about a topic with a link to extend the research and now, blogs have more information and are places in which you can write as much as you want too. Wether it´s by having a conversation with the viewers or is just a point of view about a current event.
C. Why might you read a blog?
You might read a blog when you need to find precise information and dont have time to read whole books. Also, when you want different opinions about a topic or you are curious about what others are doing. It may serve as a source for ideas or inspiration.
D. Is there reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
The reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog is because you never know who is writting it. You never know how well informed that person is or how he feels about the topic. Blogs are usually subjective and therefor shouldnt be taken into acount as direct sources of information.
E. Identify three blogs that mention our summer reading.
http://dantesinfernodocumentary.blogspot.com/
http://i-am-dante.blogspot.com/
http://www.selfimprovementdir.com/conversations-in-management-aldous-huxley-brave-new-world.html
The biggest difference between a blog and a book is that a blog is short and consise while a book is longer and has more details. A blog is something more casual than a book and is intended to be to show an opinion as fast as it can while the book offers broader analisis and requires more thinking. With blogs you can find many related sources easily as opposed to with a book. A blog is simply, a way to communicate that meets the modern demands.
B. How have blogs changed recently?In the past blogs used to lack information. They were mostly comments about a topic with a link to extend the research and now, blogs have more information and are places in which you can write as much as you want too. Wether it´s by having a conversation with the viewers or is just a point of view about a current event.
C. Why might you read a blog?
You might read a blog when you need to find precise information and dont have time to read whole books. Also, when you want different opinions about a topic or you are curious about what others are doing. It may serve as a source for ideas or inspiration.
D. Is there reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
The reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog is because you never know who is writting it. You never know how well informed that person is or how he feels about the topic. Blogs are usually subjective and therefor shouldnt be taken into acount as direct sources of information.
E. Identify three blogs that mention our summer reading.
http://dantesinfernodocumentary.blogspot.com/
http://i-am-dante.blogspot.com/
http://www.selfimprovementdir.com/conversations-in-management-aldous-huxley-brave-new-world.html
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