Early in the book "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, we are introduced to Billy Pilgrim and the planet Tralfamadore. During my encounter with Tralfamadore, I found out that death is viewed much differently on the planet than on Earth. When one dies, they only appear to die and is alive in the past. "When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in the particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is 'So it goes.'" Billy Pilgrim says.
So it goes. Such a nonchalant phrase to say when you see someone die. It's pretty much like shrugging off that someone has died and carrying on like it's nothing big. Throughout the book whenever someone dies, the same recurring phrase, "So it goes" appears. The very use of this phrase seems to desensitize the harsh reality of what just happened and provide reassurance. When someone dies is seen dying in the war, the phrase is there to let the reader know that everything will go on and the Tralfamadorian thought of them still living in the past is there.
Death is not as big of a deal in Slaughterhouse Five as it would be in other anti-war novels. The reader relates with the Tralfamadorian mindset that life can exist through moments and memories which makes death not as significant as they would expect. If someone dies in the story, so it goes. Life goes on and they will live on in moments in the past.
As we discussed in class, the apparent "shrugging" aspect of this phrase--sort of, "So what?"--only reflects part of its implications. It can also serve as a sobering (and relentless) reminder of the transience of life ("THIS is how IT GOES!"). And in this novel, death is relentless. The more it's repeated, in some ways, the less casual it seems.
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