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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—So It Goes:
The phrase "so it goes" is a motif that occurs every time death is mentioned in Slaughterhouse-Five. The phrase occurs dozens and dozens of times throughout the novel, all following the mention, discussion, or implication of death. Pilgrim describes why he started saying the phrase, explaining: “When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is ‘So it goes.’ ”
"So it goes" is a detached and removed response to death. It is a very literal assertion, as everything that lives must die. As the one necessary conclusion to everyone's life, death is simply how it goes. "So it goes" is also consistent with the Tralfamadorian conception of free will. Both the Tralfamadorians and Billy Pilgrim believe there is no free will, and thus any specific death was fated to occur the way it does. It is, again, just how it goes.
The saying also illustrates the fact that Pilgrim and the narrator have seen so much death and destruction in the war that they are particularly callous to it. Having the same response to death no matter the specifics of who died also speaks to the universality of life and death, and thus the anti-war tone of the story. No matter what side of the war one fought on, Pilgrim's response to their death is the same.
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Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Flashbacks and PTSD:
Flashbacks occur frequently throughout in Slaughterhouse-Five. The Tralfamadorian-inspired structure of the novel is predicated on flashbacks: Billy Pilgrim literally flashes back (and forward) in time as he becomes unstuck from time's linear flow. Vonnegut intermixes time travel with more typical flashbacks as various memories prompt sudden recollection, but not time travel. For example, the optometrist barbershop quartet prompts a vivid memory of the war which is structurally similar to an instance of time travel in the story.
The literal and figurative flashbacks, and flash-forwards, are integral to Vonnegut's style and can be understood as symbolic of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that often plagues soldiers returning from war. This element of the story is counterintuitively represented not through the discussion of the war, but through the alien abduction of Billy Pilgrim. On Tralfamadore, Pilgrim lives a new life, exposed to an alternative culture while entirely without freedom. Eventually, he is forced to return to his old life on Earth. The dichotomy between life in the war and life at home, between this alien world and Earth, is in many ways the focus of the novel. The recurring flashbacks further this dichotomy and evoke PTSD in the process. Pilgrim's alien abduction is then a broader metaphor for the experience of a soldier.
Some scholars argue that the novel as a whole can be interpreted as a soldier suffering from PTSD, with the science fiction elements a byproduct of mental illness or a consequence of the traumatic plane crash. This interpretation is far from agreed-upon, but it is nevertheless an important potential interpretation of the story and one that is supported by the presence and frequency of flashbacks.
PTSD notwithstanding, the flashbacks contribute to Pilgrim's outlook on life: having seen the past and the future time and time again, he does not believe in free will and appears apathetic when faced with "new" experiences. The reader can easily understand this perspective after reading the story themselves and being forced to see the world through Pilgrim's eyes.
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