In Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut the Tralfamadorian philosophy is introduced. The Tralfamadorians don't experience time in a line, and are able to only live in the happy moments if they wish. Vonnegut makes a strong correlation between the Tralfamadorian philosophy and the American war philosophy; killing millions of people for no reason, and then telling the public of how heroic our American soldiers are.
The Tralfamadorian philosophy is one that doesn't quite make sense at first. They are able to see every moment in their lives all at once. They are independent from time. Instead of proceeding through time in a line like humans, they can choose which moment will come next, or just stay in one forever if they like. They do have birth dates and death dates, it's just that their conscious sense of time isn't linearly confined. They also believe in predestination. Even though they can see the future, or what we would call the future, they can't change it.
Kurt Vonnegut speaking at Case Western Reserve Uni...
Vonnegut Wooden Nickel
English: This is a photo of architect Bernard Vonn...No matter how many times they "live" a moment, to them it is set in stone. Oddly enough, they talk as if they can change it: "He always has pressed the button, he always will press the button, and we will always let him press it". However odd this philosophy might be, Billy seems to understand it, and goes on to preach about it.
A Tralfamadorian could experience the worst tragedy ever, and then just not live in the moment, and be completely fine. Because they aren't bound to time, they can feel happy in life by just experiencing the moments when they were happy. This makes the Tralfamadorians very optimistic about life, they never have to deal with any of the stuff that happens. Instead of being forced to solve their problems, such as...
Thumbs up!
A well written essay about a great book.
4 out of 4 people found this comment useful.