Billy Pilgrims Coping Mechanism for PTSD in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five

In Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five, billy club Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time. The question here is, wherefore? The fact of the matter is that he does not actually begin to time-travel. baton becomes unstuck as a coping mechanism to deal with his traumatic experiences during the war. billy attempts to reorganize his mannerss events and cope with a throw out of kilter known as post traumatic stress (PTSD). Post traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition that follows a wonderful event (Marilyn 8). It occurs when one has witnessed or experienced a traumatic event, such as war, child abuse, or other types of violence. Victims may claim to live or re-experience events that were traumatic to them. They may even feel or come upon things from the event. Other symptoms may include forgetfulnessamnesia, excessive fantasizingtrancelike statesimaginary companion, sleepbase on balls, and blackouts (Putman 2). A lot of times, coping mechanisms fail and the following inner dissonance potentiometer lead to a multiplicity of upsetting emotional and physical symptoms (Robert Saperstein 2). both(prenominal) children suffering from PTSD may show traumatic play. This refers to the reenactment of a traumatic experience. Usually, children will change the ending to make it happier. This is an extreme example of victimisation the visual modality as a way to escape the terrible memories. Billy has all the symptoms associated with the disorder as he also used his imagination to escape his bad memories.When Billy Pilgrim goes to war in Germany, he is concisely captured by the Germans and taken to a prisoner camp. While there, he is mocked and ridiculed. He is a very passive character, and so is not bothered by this taunting, yet when Billy realizes that the war doesnt just affect soldiers and people, but all animals, such as the horses they find after the bombing of Dresden, his life is scarred forever and a day. He sees that the horses are bleeding from th eir mouths and that they are in twisting when walking. When Billy sees that his colleagues had mistreated the horses, he realizes that that is what war does to the entire world. Billy is forever changed and even weeps (197). This may have been the trigger for PTSD in Billys life to begin with. One of case post traumatic stress disorder tells of a Vietnam veteran sleeping with a triggerman under his pillow and having nightmares so intense that he woke up strangling his wife. Another time, the same veteran saw a neighbor walking outside after dark and dodged under a bush and started weirdo around with a gun (McGirk 1).