Slaughterhouse-Five Chapter 5, Section 3 Summary

  • Billy can't read Tralfamadorian, but he does see how the books are laid out: in short sections separated by stars.
  • Billy says that the stars seem like telegrams.
  • The Tralfamadorian says it's true: the stars are short messages describing a situation or scene.
  • The Tralfamadorians read these messages all at once to get a complete, beautiful scene.
  • There is no beginning, middle, end, or moral in a Tralfamadorian novel.