Chapter 3: Antihero

       Billy Pilgrim, although the central character in Slaughterhouse-Five, is not portrayed as a hero like most main characters in novels. Billy is portrayed more as someone who is weaker then other characters and can be bullied easily, thus an antihero. For instances, the passage, "They [German soldiers] threw Billy into shrubbery. When Billy came out of the shrubbery, his face wreathed in goofy good will, they menaced him with their machine pistols, as though they were capturing him then" (Vonnegut 58) shows his inability to resist the soldiers. When reading this passage, the first idea that came to mind is Billy is just letting the German soldiers push him around. Yes, I know, they do have firearms, but it seems like Billy did not even try to resist like most stereotypical heroes would.
   
       Another quality that makes me believe that Billy is an antihero is his random outbursts of sobbing. This quality is shown in the passage, "But sleep would not come. Tears came instead. They seeped. Billy turned on the Magic Mike Fingers, and he was jiggled as he wept" (Vonnegut 62). Most heroes do not show signs of weaknesses, flaws, or even normal human qualities and emotions. This does not refer to only "superheros", but heroes in novels.

       In conclusion, these two passages show that Billy lacks in the qualities of courage and grace. As of now, I characterize Billy as an antihero, but I could be proven wrong with "future" actions. It's kind of difficult to use "future" lightly in this novel. Anyways, chapter three was very enjoyable, and I look forward to reading about Billy's alien abduction.