Slaughterhouse-Five Chapter 2, Section 25 Summary

  • Billy has stopped in the forest, panting for breath.
  • This is when he comes unstuck in time for the first time.
  • Billy is transported to a time after his death—violet light and a hum—and before his birth—red light and bubbling sounds.
  • Billy goes back to his life, to the moment when his father teaches him to swim at the Y.M.C.A.
  • His father throws him into the deep end of the pool. Billy sinks to the bottom of the pool, and there is music everywhere.
  • Billy faints, but the music goes on. He is rescued, and he resents that.