To emblematically represent visibility in Slaughterhouse-Five, I turn to one of Vonnegut’s most revered characters. Science fiction writer Kilgore Trout appears in several of Vonnegut’s novels, including Slaughterhouse-Five, and critics have often wondered aloud if Trout was a sort of alter ego for Vonnegut. However, several years after the death of science fiction writer and More Than Human author Theodore (Kilgore) Sturgeon (Trout) in 1985, Vonnegut publicly admitted that Trout was based on him. To represent Trout, I used another picture from Vonnegut, but this one was for sale on www.vonnegut.com as opposed to being in my book. Maintaining my low-key style, I removed most of the color and background from the picture to bring a focus on Trout and his five pairs of eyes. I think it’s also interesting to note that Trout appears to grow spirically outward from his neck/mouth region, which I also associate with the number five.
In Slaughterhouse-Five, Trout plays a role similar to Vonnegut’s role in writing this novel. By that, I mean he writes absurd science fiction stories with sarcastic stories and cutting morals. Like Vonnegut, Trout attempts to regenerate, rejuvenate, and teach humans through his work, and his imaginative processes resemble Vonnegut’s by the way they utilize existing works and popular figures. It’s easy to see why some critics view Trout as an alter ego for Vonnegut, given these circumstances, but I would be hesitant to say Trout is anything more than a good emblem for visibility.
