So it goes.

#9. Could-have, Should-have, Would-have...and the Nothing-at-all's

If you could change something about the novel, what would it be?

I would change absolutely nothing about it. I realize this sounds sooo lame, but I thought about it.

After thinking of what I didn't like and what I did like about the book, I realized that you have pros and cons in life. Vonnegut tried to make his novel realistic in a sci-fi sort of method, which worked with the events. To take away any part of the novel would be to destroy the very essence of it. It may not seem that the trivial sections of the book would matter (such as what books Kilgore Trout wrote), or it may seem that some events were not given enough time to play out (such as Edgar Deby's execution). The reality is that that was how Vonnegut wanted to write the book. He actually graded his novels at one point in his life (Google this if you don't believe me). The only novel he gave an A+ to was to S-5. That says something about how he felt about this particular work. He downplayed Derby's execution because it was just one more death in his book. So it goes.

And think about it this way:

• Is there a more comedically tragic way ofValencia dying rather than of carbon monoxide poisoning? I have an odd sense of humor, I must admit, but the way Vonnegut described her anxiety when news of Billy's plane accident hit made the whole scene amusing. Ironically, she was the one who ended up dying as she was on her way to visit Billy in hospital.
• Is there a better beginning to a book than giving it all away? It's like a PowerPoint presentation, you present Table of Contents  for what you will cover, and then you break it down. It helps organize a reader's thought process. The quality of a book should not have to rely on surprise and suspense, but on its content and uniqueness. And what's more unique than the random line "Poo-tee-weet"?
• Is there really a better way than Pilgrim being killed othered than by a hitman of Lazzarro's choice? I doubt it. There was satisfaction and a sense of closure when Lazzarro fulfilled his revenge. Otherwise, Lazzarro's character would have just been another lame all-words-no-show kinda guy, which is already ubiquitous in life. That would have been boring.

S-5 is perfect the way it is because I couldn't imagine it being written with alternative scenes. It may be a psychologically human thing to think this way, but that's my take on this.

#8. Time, Time, Time Again, Younger Now Than We Were Before

What scene in the novel would lend itself well to film and why?

A fun scene to produce into film is the blurb about how Billy Pilgrim and his peers had to work in a factory that produced malt syrup. Billy actually revisted this memory of Dresden during a time of unconsciousness, so it can be inferred that he was time-travelling again. Film is the most effective way of producing the feel of a protagonist experiencing a dreamy, hazy, other-world.
This part of the novel was written in an amusing, nostalgic kinda way. The narrator seemed to miss the taste of the malt syrup, and tried to decribe it in a way that could also be decribed via film. A novel leads much to the imagination, whereas with film there is visual aid. A visual of the malt syrup would evoke the audience's taste buds to a higher degree.
The comedic aspect of the paragraphs was how child-like the workers acted. Although they were supposed to be working dilligently in the factory, they secretly spooned the malt syrup. Vonnegut details that spoons were hidden all over the factory in radiators and rafters. This sentence made me chuckle. It reminded me of how children act when they try to hide some petty "crime". I don't know what malt syrup tastes like, but I can assume that it actually does taste good, though it is possible that Billy only thought it tasted euphoric because of the lack of substantial food.

Yum yum.

In my head, this is how the scene runs:

-The screen is a haze; a tik-tok noise plays as background music, this music merges with factory sounds (implies time-travelling)
-Reveal a tablespoon that is thrust into a vat of a thin honey substance, turned round and round and re-emerges like a gooey lollipop
-This is plopped into a human's mouth; zoom out; it is Billy Pilgrim's pleasured face
-Suddenly, the workers hear someone else coming; suspenseful music plays
-A person of authority is auditing the factory
-The factory workers now appear to be hard at work
-As soon as the manager figure leaves, the workers simultaneously take their spoons from their hiding places and spoon some syrup on the sly
-The sound of footsteps play again
- Billy Pilgrim sees Edgar Derby through a factory window wanting some syrup, and quickly shoves a spoonful into his gaping mouth; Edgar's surpised face would be worth a thousand words
- Billy hides the spoon
-The workers spring up, immediately hide the spoons, and proceed with sweeping the floor or cleaning lavatories (or whatever else they were doing)

Ta-da.