For some reason, Vonnegut decided to make the narrator of his story a character in the book. He threw this narrator into the very first chapter, then threw him in again at the beginning of chapter 10. He was even pointed out at random times in the middle of the story, for no apparent reason. I wondered why the narrator’s perspective was needed when Billy’s story was the one being told. What did the narrator’s personal voice add to the narrative?
Perhaps Vonnegut was trying to ground his story in reality, such as with the very first quote of the book: “All this happened, more or less...One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn't his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunmen after the war. And so on...”
When he interjects to point out this narrator, a normal person who could very well be himself, it reminds the reader that these sort of events really did happen in the war, even if they’re shown alongside time travel and aliens.
I also think that the first chapter sets a tone for the rest of the story. Vonnegut paints a picture of a slightly senile old man(maybe a version of himself) who has lived a full life but is still haunted by the war. It's a perspective that we hardly get anywhere else in the book, this looking back on the war and seeing how the memory of it permeates an otherwise normal life. The narrator reveals this struggle on a much more personal level then we see it with Billy.
Why do you think Vonnegut chose to include the narrator's personal perspective? Is the narrator Vonnegut, or is he a fictional character like any other?
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