The Crazy Occurrences of the Tralfamadorians

In the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, author Kurt Vonnegut utilizes several tools to express his feelings on war and life. One approach is by using an extraterrestrial race named the Tralfamadorians to pose as the "wise men" of the novel. They are an alien species who have been observing Earth for thousands of years. They have a unique ability to see four dimensions and all periods of time. As the novel progresses, we learn more about this strange, yet well educated species, and the beliefs in which they entail.

The first time that the Tralfamadorians are mentioned is in the second chapter. Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist, is on a talk radio show in New York and mentions the planet of Tralfamadore, "where he was displayed naked in a zoo." (32) He goes on to explain how the time in Tralfamadore is much different than earth; he was able to stay there for a prolonged period of time while on Earth little time passed at all. Because of the difficulty in explaining this to someone who had not experienced it, Billy cannot convince his daughter that he was in Tralfamadore, causing her to believe that Billy is simply insane.

The beginning of a string of beliefs held by the Tralfamadorians is introduced soon after Billy's talk show appearance. Because of their ability to see the past and the future, they have a different perspective on death. "When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse," Pilgrim explains "all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition at the particular moment." This is because the Tralfamadorians believe that beings live within memories, and "are just fine in plenty of other moments." (34) As readers, we are now introduced to Vonnegut's much used phrase, "so it goes," which appears to be stemmed from the Tralfamadorian beliefs.