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Billy Pilgrim's Birth
Billy Pilgrim is born in Illium, New York on July 4th, 1922. -
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Dates not completely accurate
Not all events were told with the exact date in the book. Instead, I attempted to place them in the correct year but then place them in the correct order based on waht would make sense. -
Billy is drafted by the Army
While studying Optometry in New York, Billy in drafted into the Army during World War II. While training for the war in South Carolina, he served as a champlain's assitant. This is ironic because throughout Billy's story, he is shown questioning religion along with Kilgore Trout, and the Tralfamadorians. -
Billy's father dies
While Billy is in South Carolina training for war, Billy's father dies in a hunting accident. -
Billy finds himself in war in Germany
By 1944, Billy is on the front lines in Luxembourg fighting for America in the Battle of the Bulge against the Germans. He finds himself lost, behind enemy lines, with Roland Weary and two other scouts. Weary calls himself and the two other scouts the "Three Musketeers." While behind enemy lines, Weary repeatedly is found saving Billy's life despite Billy saying, "You guys go on without me,"(34). -
Billy first becomes unstuck in time
Before the two scouts ditch Pilgrim and Weary, Billy becomes unstuck in time for the first time. He is described as leaning against a tree when he all of the sudden becomes unstck in time. Vonnegut says, "This was when Billy first came unstuck in time. His attention began to swing grandly through the full arc of his life, passing into death, which was violet light," (43). This is very significant because this is what leads to the incredibally complex setup and flow of events in the novel. -
Pilgrim and Weary become POW's
While behind enemy lines, Pilgrim and Weary and captured and made prisoners of war. While walking, their boots are taken and exchanged for clogs. Later, they are transposted into German territory to a POW compound by train. Weary dies on the train due to gangrene caused by blisters in his feet from the wooden clogs. Weary's last words were that Billy Pilgrim was the man who killed him. Paul Lazzaro swears revenge upon Pilgrim. -
Billy Pilgim and Edgar Derby are sent to Dresden.
Somewhere inbetween the bombing of Dresden and Billy's arrival at the POW compound, Billy and Edgar Derby and sent to Dresden to perform "contract labor." While in Dresden, they lived in an abandoned slaughterhouse. -
The Bombing of Dresden
On this day, the Allied Forces bombed the city of Dresden. Billy Pilgrim survives the bombing along with Edgar Derby and others. -
Billy Pilgrim is Discharged from the war
In July of 1945, Billy Pilgrim is transported out of Germany and back into the U.S. as he recieved an "honorable dischrge" from the war. -
Pilgrim enters Mental Ward
A few months after the wars end, Billy admits himself into a Mental Ward where he is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. While in the ward, the man in the bed next to him was named Eliot Rosewater. Rosewater introduces Billy to the writings of Kilgore Trout. -
Billy marries Valencia
Billy marries a girl named Valencia, who belongs to a rich family. They have two children, Robert and Barbara. Billy worked as an optometrist. He is very successful as an optometrist and makes a lot of money. -
Billy meets Montana Wildhack on Tralfamadore
On Tralfamadore, another human is present with Billy in the zoo. Her name was Montana Wildhack. Billy and Montana fell in love and she becomes pregnant with Billy's child. Billy seems much closer to Montana as oppossed to Valencia, shown by Billy's openness about his experiences in life. -
Billy is abducted and brought to an Alien planet: Tralfamadore
On the night of his daughter Barbara's wedding, he is abducted by aliens called Trafamadorians. They bring him to their planet where he is kept in a zoo. Here, he learns of the Trafamadorians views on time, religion, peace, fate vs. free will, etc. When talking about how the world ends, the Tralfamadorians say that a button was pressed to end the universe. "He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way," (117). -
Pilgrim meets Kilgore Trout
Billy meets his favortie outhor, Kilgore Trout, a science fiction author. Kilgore was unaware that there were people who actually read his books. Kilgore is a bit of an odd ball, which plays into an almost Vonnegt-like image. Kilgore is described oddly similar to Vonnegut. -
Valencia dies
Following a plane crash in which Billy and the copilot of the plane are the only ones to survive, Valencia drives to the hospital crazily, crashing into a car on the way. She was not aware that this caused damage to her car, leading to her death of carbon monoxide poisoning. -
Billy Pilgrim's Death
Billy Pilgrim is killed by Paul Lazzaro, the man who swore to get revenge on Billy Pilgrim for the death of Roland Weary. He was killed with a lazer gun. -
Billy gives speech in Chicago
In Chicago, Billy gives a speech about his interaction with the Tralfamadorians and his understanding of their view of time. He also tells the large crowd that it was the day he would die. Paul Lazzaro, the man who swore to get revenge on Billy, finally would that day. To the people that protested him allowing himself to be killed, he said, "If you protest, if you think that death is a terrible thing, then you have not understood a word I've said," (142).
