Periods of war no doubt affect society and its individuals. Too often people focus on the positive sides of war and glorify it. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut carefully strives for the opposite. His protagonist, Billy, is a weak and unheroic victim who is haunted by his experience at the Dresden massacre. He (presumably) imagines becoming "unstuck" in time, uncontrollably traveling to various parts of his life, and being abducted by and learning the ideas of the Tralfamadorians. Yet as the novel progresses, it gradually becomes clear that Billy's memories from the massacre have haunted him and driven him mad. A generation of war has caused Billy to struggle and eventually simply close his eyes to avoid looking at his war hero son.
Meanwhile, numerous characters in the novel attempt to be war heroes, but Vonnegut slams each of them down. They all wish to maintain dignity and be seen positively by society. Both Weary and Wild Bob dream of a respected/heroic status after the war, yet both die of illness, not even in glorified battle. The Englishmen prisoners of war, Billy's son, and Rumfoord are viewed as war heroes by society, yet Vonnegut shows his readers the unheroic side of each of those characters. Society shaped these characters into something they were not.
