Bye Bye Billy

As the blogging comes to an end I'd like to say how happy I am that I won't have to think about Billy anymore. He really wasn't a favourite character of mine throughout the novel because he was so pathetic. It seems a little harsh but I can totally support my thought by saying that he proposed lamely to Valencia and made no effort to have a happy marriage (which makes him less of a man in my eyes), he also gave up on life at points in the novel (by being a vegetable as said by Professor Rumfoord).  In the interest of your time as the reader, I advise you visit (and would appreciate if you read) the blog below this one to read all about my opinion on Billy and Valencia's marriage. As for Billy being a veggie, the quote, "How nice-to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive." really stuck in my mind after a read it because it was such a good way to describe how I feel when I see people that don't appreciate being alive. When someone is given the chance to have a good life and doesn't even realize the good things they have (like loving parents, good grades or simply food on the table) because they're too busy doing drugs or wallowing in self pity. It really is sad that so many teens engage in drinking and drugs because they think it will help them have a good time and all they end up doing is frying brain cells and changing their personality. I've lost contact with one too many friends because they gave up on their goals and dreams to just become someone else. Other people focus on the past too much and don't move on with their life, that's also sad to see because they've got their whole life ahead of them if they're young like me. They're not appreciating their present and therefore aren't fully living their life. I know it may be hard some days when life is tough but having hope and the motivation to move on is really inspiring to see in people, like Neil Armstrong for example. I think that we all need to remember at some point that there are people out in this world that have a much more difficult life than us and they are still pushing through.  This quote from the novel just reminded me of how I feel about the people that don't appreciate what they have and just don't bother to show emotion or love in their daily life when they have the chance to. I'm not upset about the poor people in hospitals that are in a vegetative state, because they can't help that and it's sad to see them suffer that way. Billy was like this too, he wasn't aware of the good things he had in his life (like a stable job, a wife, a daughter and a roof over his head). He survived being a prisoner of war for goodness sake! I understand all the things he may have seen gave him mental problems and it took over most of his thoughts (the time travelling) but he didn't try to enjoy the gift of surviving the war. He just gave up on it. Overall, Billy wasn't one of my favourite characters and I can't say I'm too sad that he won't be a part of my thoughts a few months from now (unless I have to write about him in my final exam). But this whole blogging assignment was fun and I really enjoyed this new way of expressing my thoughts about the novel, Slaughterhouse Five.