Slaughterhouse-Five #5

In Slaughterhouse-five, Vonnegut develops both an intricate storyline and a very analytical character. It seems that Billy reads into almost everything around him. Billy more than observes all that he is surrounded by, but instead utilizes every instance to either better his circumstances or somehow alter others around him. Thinks makes me think that the manipulative aspect of Billy is what drives him to insanity. He consumes himself in this idea that the variables around him are unimportant because he is only going to stay in that one moment for a short amount of time. This is because he believes that he is a time traveler. He is not a time traveler, he is crazy.
I have a hunch that his craziness developed as a result of the traumatic death of his wife. The way that she in a way sacrificed herself because of the danger and developing medical condition of her husband drove Billy to convincing himself that her death was a result of his lack of action with the foreknowledge of the crash. Billy chooses to state that he, "Lost his wife,"(182), instead of revealing that she had died. This makes it seem as though Billy had a problem with the action that had taken place and I don't think that that idea corresponds well with what Billy has gone along with so far. What he has gone along with is that death is unimportant because once we are dead we remain alive in various moments throughout time. But in this instance, Billy seems to have lost that control and easy state of mind and begins on a reckless path where those in his life must intervene. It's sad, but I really do feel as though Billy has lost his marbles.