It's really not so bad, you know... (Analysis #2)

There is a nice theme hidden in Slaughter-House Five. Vonnegut uses Tralfamadorian life to push the idea of optimism through tragedy. In the first chapter of Slaughter-House Five, through the story of Sodom, Vonnegut tells the reader that he believes that people are not meant to look back. He conveys this message subtly through the rest of Slaughter-House Five. The Tralfamadorians, although they can live all moments, do not ‘look back’ as humans do. When humans ‘look back’, they are thinking over past events, and usually ponder how they would change or redo the event. Vonnegut’s Tralfamadorian philosophy encourages readers to think optimistically, and to live each moment without worry or regret. And you know what? I think he was onto something.