Chapter Nine: Billy and his son

Throughout the novel so far, I have not learned much about Billy's son, Robert, other than the fact that he used to be troubled and then joined the Green Berets.  The lack of description of Billy's son may be because Billy does not have a very good relationship with his son.  Vonnegut described their relationship when he wrote, "Billy liked him (Robert), but didn't know him very well.  Billy couldn't help suspecting that there wasn't much to know about Robert."  That relationship does not sound like a very healthy father to son relationship to me.  The reason that these two are not very close may be due to Robert's profession.  Being in the Green Berets, Robert is a symbol of war and destruction to his father.  After being through the second world war, the last thing Billy wants is a reminder of the destruction he experienced during the war.  Even when Robert returns from the war in Vietnam to visit his father in the hospital, all Billy can do is close his eyes to block the image.  After all, Billy is just following the advice of the Tralfamadorians which says to not concentrate on the bad images of life, but to only look at happy images.