"Billy again enrolled in the Ilium school of Optometry." Page 24
Throughout the novel, sight is a subject hit upon again and again. Billy becomes an optometrist. This in itself is not so unusual. However, we learn that Billy experienced horrible sights during the war and his time as a p.o.w. of the Germans. Additionally, the Tralfamadorians taught him many things about sight. Because they saw in the fourth dimension, they explained to Billy that what they saw was the existence of all time. There was no today and tomorrow, since everything was visible to them. Additionally, they explained to Billy that his perspective was limited, so he began to see the world the way they did, with no perspective of time or consequence.
I never caught on to this Patrick "Perceptive" Lockhart. You're right. I wonder what the theme of sight entails
ReplyDeleteI never realized how much sight was used in the novel until now. Billy's view on life before and after the war are completely skewed, due to the plane crash and war. Also, the different view points of all of the people he encounters is another thing involving sight.
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