Symbolism in Slaughterhouse-five

      Symbolism is a major component in understanding the novel. Because of the way Vonnegut writes, its crucial to know what some symbols mean in the deeper meaning. Horses, the tweedy bird, the stars, and specific colors mentioned are extremely important. Also, I noticed that the narrator also sometimes seems like a character in the story. Sometimes, Kurt makes it clear that he himself, speaks of his own experiences at war. This connection shows that the relationship with the novel and its fiction, relates to Vonnegut's personal life. Throughout the book, Kurt places himself as a character in action.
      Next, the horses that we hear about in Dresden are important because the scene where Billy sits in the coffin with the horses attached, is the only time in the novel where it actually mentions that Billy cries. Obviously, the horses don't have a way to understand the war and destruction going on around them, but Billy is like the horses because they both are "innocent victims" of destruction and suffering.
       The tweedy birds in the novel are symbolic as well, because the birds say" pee-too-weet" which doesn't really mean anything. The birds represent the lack of intelligence to say about war. What the birds say, is describing the horror of the bombing.
      The stars in the sky seem like a rather general aspect, but they really do have a big part of the novel, especially because the novel revolves around war. The paper in the novel itself is separated into tiny section of lines of three stars.  The stars are there to create their own scene.
      Lastly, the colors ivory and blue are important in Slaugterhouse-Five, because they represent sadness and loneliness. Billy feels all of these feelings, and this is obvious because throughout the novel it is obvious that Billy is sad because of the war, and the destruction and corruption he is surrounded by constantly.