"One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters. But old Derby was a character now." (pg. 164)
For some reason, I absolutely loved this quote. It really makes me want to watch Saving Private Ryan. I think its because the quote echoes in that story too. Often times, its easier to just blend in with the crowd. In war, there is little point of getting to know someone because of the chance that one of you will die. Vonnegut gives us little description of the characters besides Billy. Most of them are dead by the end of the story. In Saving Private Ryan, many men have to risk their lives to save one, and most of them die in the mission. Both stories show how war not only kills soldiers but also affects the lives around them.
Another thing you could say is that this quote is the epitome of Derby being the exact opposite of what Billy is. Derby isn't afraid to stand for what he believes in even during tough times, whereas Billy remains his same, timid self.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a stretch, but I thought Derby's death was a bit ironic. First, the fact that he was killed because of stealing a teapot, whereas other soldiers were killing thousands of innocent bystanders and getting off scott free. The second reason I thought it was ironic was because Derby, a brave, decent leader (as shown in your quote) died instead of Billy, an awkward, inexperienced eye doctor. It seems that it should have been the other way around....
ReplyDeleteI picked this quote too!I thought it was a way to describe the way veterans are after the war. Since Billy was a very unique character after the war, it offers a contrast between Derby- who was a brave leader during the war- and Billy- who was a timid coward during the war- and how Billy went on to be a character when he survived, but Derby died because he was already a character.
ReplyDelete