Pilgrim

In this chapter, Billy's death is revealed via time travel. Oddly enough, it is after a speech about time travel that he is killed. So it goes. Over the course of the story, Vonnegut never explains why time travel was included in the book. After all, the climax of the story was the firebombing of Dresden; something which could have been executed easily without the addition of time travel. The purpose of time travel in the story is left ambiguous. It could possibly be simply there to shock the reader and draw the reader's attention. It could also be to simply mention events in Billy's life in the order that Vonnegut wanted them explained in, not chronological order. For instance, when "Billy Pilgrim says now that this really is the way he is going to die", it gives a dramatic effect to the story that could not have been achieved without time travel.

"Nobody ever got it from Lazzaro who didn't have it coming"

The meaning of the title of the story, Slaughterhouse-Five, is finally explained in chapter 6. It is the address of Billy's prison during his time in Dresden. Also revealed in chapter 6 is the scene of Billy's death. He recalls that Paul Lazzaro had threatened to have him shot after the war was over. In the chapter, Lazzaro is ranting on who he was going to kill after the war, and he brings up the death of Roland Weary, a man who blamed his demise on Billy Pilgrim. Lazzaro flatly states "He [Weary] died on account of this silly ********** here. So I promised him I'd have this silly ********** shot after the war." Billy, on account of his separation from time, knows that this is true. So it goes.

Billy goes on to explain how the United States was split into 20 petty nations as to neuter it as a threat to world peace. So it goes. He is giving a speech on UFOs, free will, and the true nature of time when an assassin hired by Lazzaro shoots him in the head with a laser gun. So it goes.

All in all, Billy takes a very casual tone towards his death. After all, why should he take it seriously; he is effectively immortal, as he can view any part of his life when he wants and however many times he wants. This is the reason Vonnegut understates Pilgrim's death by adding in his favorite catchphrase, "so it goes", after his death.

Depravity of War

This chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, once again, has a particular emphasis on war. In the chapter, the Tralfamadorians reveal their views on warfare. They believe that there is nothing they can do about war, and so they tell Billy that "...we simply don't look at them. We ignore them." This can be seen as a metaphor for those who write off war as an inevitability. Vonnegut portrays them as alien and inhuman, and that their ability to accept whatever misfortunes come upon them without resistance will inevitably lead to their end. 

Back in WWII, another aspect of war is covered; its horrors. The American and Russian prisoners are kept in squalor, looked down upon by both their captors and the Englishmen. A scene is shown where the Americans are swimming in manure, as their weeks of starvation combined with a rich English feast and a small latrine has led to disaster. Also, once again the massacre of innocents at Dresden and the execution of poor old Edgar Derby are touched on as horrors of war. As an Englishmen exclaims upon seeing what the war has wrought upon the young, "My God, my God - it's the Children's Crusade."

Exposure

In the fifth chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, the moral weaknesses of Americans are exposed and mocked by the Englishmen and the Germans. In addition, Billy Pilgrim's seeming insanity and foolishness are touched upon by the same men as well as his daughter and the Tralfamadorians.

It is stated by the fictitious war criminal and traitor Howard W. Campbell that "it is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor." This is said while the Americans are piling over and trampling one another in the latrines, much to the utter disgust of the physically and mentally fit Englishmen. America was and is, in some ways still, unique in that it attaches a negative stigma to poverty. In the eyes of the wealthy American, their wealth came entirely from their hard work, and thus all the poor must have been lazy. Meanwhile, the poor were taught to hate themselves, as in America there was no legitimate excuse for poverty. The end result is the mental state of Americans seen and satirized in Slaughterhouse-Five; sniveling, backstabbing cowards who feel no kinship toward their fellow American. In the book, Vonnegut even satirizes himself, inserting himself into the story as an American in the latrine screaming about excreting every organ in his body, ending with his brain.

Pilgrim himself is also satirized parallel to America. The British and Germans see him as a weak and mentally broken in addition to all the other negative American traits. His daughter views him as losing his grip on reality. She begins to systematically strip him of his freedom to keep his odd behavior in check. The Tralfamadorians, meanwhile, scold Pilgrim for his foolishness as he attempts to make himself look intelligent by proclaiming to the all-seeing Tralfamadorians the danger that humanity poses to the universe.