Billy Pilgrim
| Billy Pilgrim | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Kurt Vonnegut |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Optometrist; soldier |
| Spouse(s) | Valencia Merble |
| Children | Robert; Barbara |
| Nationality | United States |
Billy Pilgrim is a fictional character and protagonist of Kurt Vonnegut's 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, who has appeared in adaptations of the novel for film and the stage. Billy Pilgrim was based on Vonnegut's comrade-in-arms Edward R. Crone, Jr.
Billy Pilgrim was born in Ilium, New York on July 4, 1922. After Billy graduated from high school, he enrolled in the Ilium School of Optometry. He is tall at 6 feet 3 inches, but weak and skinny at around 140 pounds. He is also friendly and kind toward others, even when others are rude or accusatory towards him. Billy also tries to pass on wise advice or information that he has learned from the Tralfamadorians.
Billy Pilgrim was born in 1922, in Ilium, New York, the only son of a barber there. A few of his childhood memories are shown: such as when his father attempted to teach him to swim by throwing him into the water and a trip to the Grand Canyon when he is twelve.
In 1943, 21-year-old Billy Pilgrim was drafted into the Army. He served as a chaplain's assistant in Virginia, and was serving on the front lines in Germany by 1944. At the Battle of the Bulge, Billy is taken prisoner along with fellow soldier Roland Weary. At this moment, Billy becomes "unstuck in time", and he re-experiences moments from various points in his life, albeit without any control over which moments. Billy and the other prisoners are transported to Luxembourg, where Roland Weary dies of gangrene. Roland's insane friend Paul Lazzaro promises to find and kill Billy Pilgrim some years after the war. By 1945, the prisoners are transported to Dresden to perform "contract labor". Their living area is an abandoned slaughterhouse called "Schlachthof Fünf" (Slaughterhouse Five). Allied forces bomb the city, and Billy takes refuge in a meat locker. This allows him to survive until the end of the war in May 1945. He is transported from Germany to the United States, receiving an honorable discharge from service in July 1945.
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