The Use of Fragmentation in Slaughterhouse-Five

The Use of Fragmentation in Slaughterhouse-Five

In the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut uses

fragmentation of time, structure and character in order to unify

his non-linear narrative. Vonnegut's main character, Billy

Pilgrim, travels back and forth in his own life span "paying

random visits to all events in between" (SF 23). The result is

Billy's life is presented as a series of episodes without any

chronological obligations. This mirrors the structure of the

novel which has a beginning, middle and end but not in their

traditional places.

The first piece of information that is given about Billy is

that he has "come unstuck in time" (SF23). With this sentence

Vonnegut has turned time from the intangible to the tangible and

thus he is now able to use it to fit his own purposes. By using

the word "unstuck", Vonnegut implies that Billy has now become

free. Consequently, Vonnegut's narrative, as well as Billy, has

achieved a freedom of sorts. Vonnegut will not be tied down by

the conventions of time; now he will be able to place Billy in

any time frame he chooses. Vonnegut moves Billy rapidly,having

him experience a mere fragment of his life before whisking him

off again. This creates a collage effect in the novel, which is

made up of bits and pieces of Billy's life. By fragmenting

Billy's life like this, Vonnegut is able to bring the events that

comprise his life closer together. One minute Billy is marching

through a forest and the next he is waiting at a public pool for

his father to teach him how to swim. This co nstant fragmentation

of Billy's life serves, ironically, to unify Billy's character

for the reader. By going back and forth in Billy's life the

reader is able to see a whole picture of what Billy is actually

like instead of just one fragment of his personality.

Vonnegut also uses time fragmentation in order keep the

Dresden bombing fresh in the reader's mind.