Chapter 2: Indirect Characterization

     While reading the second chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, I notice many prime examples of Indirect Characterization. The first example comes in the narrator's description of Billy, "He was a funny-looking child who became a funny-looking youth--tall and weak, and shaped like a bottle of Coca-Cola" (Vonnegut 23). When I first read this description, I did not take much notice and thought it was just giving the audience a basic description of Billy. I shortly realized that it was telling the reader that Billy is someone who is not gifted physically, thus not ready or capable of fighting in a war.

      Another prime example of Indirect Characterization in Slaughterhouse-Five is Billy's experience after his involvement in an airplane crash. Vonnegut describes Billy, after the crash, by saying, "When Billy finally got home to Illium after the airplane crash, he was quiet for a while. . . He didn't resume practice" (Vonnegut 25). This description of Billy's situation shows the crash deeply effected his mind and even scared him. Because of this crash, Billy will not be the same mentally or emotionally.

      Chapter Two was confusing, but by the end of the chapter, it made sense. It was very interesting in its structure, and the events that took place throughout the chapter.