Chapter 6: Blue and Ivory

       The representation of the colors of blue and ivory are used by Vonnegut in communicating a theme to the reader. The first incident in which these colors appear is when Billy is about to be abducted by the saucer. Vonnegut goes on to describe Billy's feet as blue and ivory. Vonnegut uses blue and ivory again in the passage, "Someone had taken his [Hobo's] boots. His bare feet were blue and ivory. It was all right, somehow, his being dead. So it goes" (Vonnegut 148). When I first read this passage, it puzzled me. As I stated, it was used to describe Billy's feet with the saucer, and also while in war. At first, I could not find a connection between this motif and the rest of the novel, but then came SparkNotes.

        According to SparkNotes, the phrase "blue and ivory" is used to represent the thin membrane between life and death. This is when it made sense to me. These blue and ivory feet appeared on both Billy and the corpse of the hobo, allowing the reader to make the connection: the corpse is dead and Billy is alive; yet, they share the same physical feature, making them closer in bodily state than what is thought. Vonnegut is trying to show the reader that life and death are not as separated as people may think.

        I believe that this is one of the major themes of Slaughterhouse-Five, being an anti-war novel and all. This is a theme, when thought about deeply, makes sense since life is extremely precious and can be taken away at any moment. In the mindset of Vonnegut, life and death are not as far apart as it may appear.