"So It Goes"

I have come to the conclusion that I really don't like it that Vonnegut says "so it goes," after every mention of death in Slaughterhouse Five. I understand that for Billy Pilgrim, death is no big deal. He has the ability to go back to the moments in which a person who has died is still alive and relive it over and over again. Death is a part of life that can be beaten because every moment, past, present, and future, can be lived again and again whenever Billy or a Tralfamadorian wants to. Plus Billy and the Tralfamadorians understand that events happen, and they can't be changed. Future events are set in stone, and past events happen the same way no matter how many times one relives them.

The bad part about death is that for most people death is the end. It is a big deal for them. They couldn't even think to say "so it goes" every time someone dies. Except for Billy, humans don't get to see loved ones who die again. When they're dead, that's it. No more seeing them, talking to them, being with them. They no longer exist for those whom, unlike Billy Pilgrim, are stuck in time. So to me, it's insensitive of Kurt Vonnegut to continuously say "so it goes" in the face of death because for the normal people without the ability to travel through time, death is not something to be blown off.


I've been wondering whether Billy Pilgrim or the Tralfamadorians have any plans to teach the rest of the Earthlings how to become "unstuck in time." It seems like the Tralfamadorians don't have much reason to kidnap random humans and bring them to their planet. And why let Billy Pilgrim go home and not Montana Wildhack? Maybe they wanted Billy to spread the knowledge of time and other dimensions he had learned in Tralfamadore. Maybe Montana chose to stay in Tralfamadore because of the baby. Billy almost seems to be condescending to those who don't know about time travel and death not being the end. On the other hand, Billy does try to tell others about Tralfamadore and what he learned there by going on a radio show. Unfortunately, everyone thought he was crazy, including his own daughter. So maybe it makes sense for Billy to try and hide his experience and keep his talent of time traveling to himself. But still, it's not really fair to expect everyone to take death easily and simply say "so it goes" in the face of it.