1. Billy vs. Desmond
Billy Pilgrim jumps from different times in his life for an unknown reason. He goes from war, to marriage, to being abducted by the Tralfamadorians. No one knows why, and he witnesses his life, in parts, over again. Desmond Hume, from Lost, has a similar situation. He all-of-a-sudden starts to "wake up" in events from his life. Similarly, Desmond was also in the military. I also found that one of Desmond's squad members is named Billy, which could be a possible nod to Slaughterhouse-Five.
^Desmond after a time jump
2. Violet LightIn chapter two when Billy first time travels, death is described as "just a violet light-and a hum." On the island, people who are traveling through time see a bright light and hear a weird humming noise. Coincidence? You tell me.
^The island starting to move through time
3. The Button
When Billy asks the Tralfamadorians why they can't just stop the pilot from pushing the button to save the Universe, they reply: "He has always pressed it, and he always will. We always let him and we always will let him. The moment is structured that way." There is a button that Desmond pushes on Lost that is supposed to keep the world from ending. When it isn't pressed, a bright light envelops the island and let's just say that some bad stuff happens. Another character while trying to explain time travel says, "Whatever happened, happened," which is the same sort of idea that the Tralfamadorians use.
^Desmond enters the numbers 4-8-15-16-23-42 then pushes the button
Good post. I too have noticed connections to other texts, shows, etc. in Slaughterhouse-Five. The concept of time travel, especially, seems to be a common theme. I wouldn't be surprised if other works were inspired by Slaughterhouse-Five, since it is such a famous book.
ReplyDeleteDang. This is brilliant. As an avid fan of Lost, i really enjoyed these connections--in fact it makes me want to re-watch Lost...of course that would just make me sad. Every character in Lost has a name that relates to a philosopher, and i'm sure the producers and writers of Lost were well aware of Slaughterhouse-Five, so, hell, i can easily imagine the Billy coincidence described above not being a coincidence.
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