"Billy is spastic in time, has no control over where he is going next, and the trips aren't necessarily fun. He is in a constant state of stage fright, he says, because he never knows what part of his life he is going to have to act in next... He was a funny-looking child who became a funny-looking youth-tall and weak." p.23
One thing that is prevalent in the book is indirect characterization. Vonnegut contributes the traits of characters largely through descriptions of events and circumstances. Throughout the story, almost all of Billy's character has been developed through the actions that have happened to him. However, I chose this quote for a specific purpose. Vonnegut describes Billy as being in a constant state of stage fright. This brief characterization of him as being perpetually frightened has yet to be shown so far in the frame story. So far, it seems as though Billy has accepted time travel as a normal thing that happens and is yet to protest or fear such things. As of now, he seems to just have a "so it goes" attitude towards the happenings of events in his life. I'm interested to see how Billy's views of such things change throughout the book up to the present in which Vonnegut is telling the story.
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