Slaughterhouse Five - Manipulation of Time and Place

Slaughterhouse Five - Manipulation of Time and Place Kurt Vonnegut's manipulation of time and place adds a science- fiction element to Slaughterhouse-Five. Structarally, the novel is far from traditional. Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist, jumps from place to place and is in a constant time warp while on the planet Tralfamadore. Since Vonnegut uses the planet Tralfamadore and the Tralfamadorian people to take Billy from place to place and time frame to time frame, in the …

…over 100 times (Boomhower). Vonnegut's unusual manipulation of time and place in Slaughterhouse-Five makes the novel one of a kind. The time tripping and Billy's being "unstuck in time" allow for the book to take many different routes. Furthermore, they allow Vonnegut to present occurrences of the Dresden experience in a way that would have the greatest impact on the reader. The manipulation of time enables Vonnegut to intertwine some science-fiction elements into his anti-war novel.