The Theme Of Death In Vonnegut's 'So It Go'

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The most prominent symbol that Vonnegut uses in the text is the phrase “So it goes”. The major theme of the phrase is death. Every time death is a factor, which is often, he uses the phrase immediately after. To me, I believe the phrase shows how important death is and how it is not something to look past and that the audience needs to understand that death is a major part of the novel. An example of this is when Vonnegut says “ There was a battle there. People were dying there. So it goes,” (Vonnegut 83). This clearly shows the connection of the phrase and them of death. A counterclaim could be how it is morally and ethically not right to use the phrase every single time. That using it over and over could give people the impression that death is not a big deal and was taken more lightly by him. The phrase “So it goes” is the most prominent symbol in the novel. It is used over and over again with the connection of death. I believe Vonnegut is trying to show the importance of death and how it is not something that should be taken lightly in this book. Death is a major theme and it needs to be understood in detail to …show more content…

They might take it totally opposite from my view and think that it means he is trying to make death not a big deal and something that is not taken as seriously to him as others. They may also think Vonnegut uses the phrase “So it goes” to try and make death not as serious or not as big of a deal to Billy Pilgrim. On top of that, others may think it is morally and ethically wrong to try and put down death and lessen its seriousness. This is flawed in my opinion because if someone says something over and over again it makes sense that they are trying to make it known or important, not unimportant. Death was clearly a major theme in the story which only proves why he would try to emphasize that

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