Before journeying to Tralfamadore, Billy Pilgirm encounters a bottle of champagne. "'Drink me,' it seemed to say."(73). This small little command reminded me of Alice and Wonderland. As I thought about it further, I realized that Alice and Billy possessed some similarities. Both were traveling to mystical places titled Wonderland and Tralfamadore, respectively. Additionally, upon their returns, no one believed that they had actually traveled to such unbelievable locations. Also, the bottles of shrinking and growing potions that Alice imbibed allowed her passage into Wonderland through a door. By drinking the champagne, Billy was also whisked away to Tralfamadore although the champagne did not actually result in his journey. Even though the allusion is rather indirect, Vonnegut was comparing Billy and Alice through the use of the champagne.
The connection that you found between Alice and Billy is wonderful. I would have never thought of that. I believe that you are right that this was Vonnegut's intention, especially because Vonnegut compares Billy to Cinderella, another fable character, while he is at the camp with the British prisoners of war.
ReplyDeleteI also found a comparison within this chapter with Billy and many Disney movies. There are always some kind of story where the character is told to do something, and they do which allows them to find out it was a bad idea. Lion King, for example, is another idea of how to relate Billy to a Disney character. Billy is a lot like Simba, in the fact, he does what he is tempted to do. Simba went with Nala to journey through the lands, and then got caught by the hianas. Therefore, Lion King could also be another relation.
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