The Impact of Kurt Vonnegut's Science Fiction Slaughterhouse-Five brilliantly illustrates how being in combat traumatically affects soldiers in times of war. Indeed, the author uses science fiction and the creative use of time travel as a mold to express his true feelings towards war, thus making Slaughterhouse-Five a quintessential anti-war book. Vonnegut's use of science fiction creates an outlet on the planet Tralfamadore where Billy is able to escape the mental damage caused by the war. The author, Kurt Vonnegut, saw many battles during his fighting days. He begins, not as Billy Pilgrim, but as Kurt Vonnegut, explaining his personal war experiences. He writes in the first person to give the reader a primary source for what it means to be a soldier at war. He suffered the horrific bombings of Dresden, “among which 135,000 people died – more people, Vonnegut tells us, than died in Hiroshima or Nagasaki” (Cacicedo). Vonnegut, who becomes a prisoner of war, is extremely traumatized by what he saw during World War II. Vonnegut, in addition to being a prisoner of war, was forced to shovel the corpses of his fellow soldiers. Vonnegut reflects on his time on the front lines as well as his post-war life, creating his founding alter ego, Billy Pilgrim, accustomed to escaping Vonnegut's reality. “He constantly relives his war experiences…” (Williams) through Billy. He uses this source of fiction to escape his emotions linked to this evil period of war. Excessively, Vonnegut explains the horrors of war in more detail, "his evasion and fatalistic philosophy do not protect him from the memories of the horrors" (Williams). Due to all the difficulties Vonnegut faced, it was not easy for him to write all his thoughts down on paper. ...... middle of paper ......e continues to fight the world he hates. With his newfound friendship for science fiction, Billy discovers that the "morphine paradise of Tralfamadore" (Broer) makes it much easier for him to live in the real world. As time passes and Billy becomes more focused on escaping his own insane thoughts, he finds the courage to leave the hospital. Although Billy continues to travel through time, he slowly recovers from the damage the war did to him. Kurt Vonnegut and Billy Pilgrim must deal with their post-war traumas. Slaughterhouse-Five is a primary source on how science fiction can be used to escape the outside world and ultimately overcome these horrible obstacles. Just as Kurt Vonnegut found a way to deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder, so do many veterans, as they do what they must to free themselves from their horrible memories..