Edgar Derby: The Mom Friend
As I read Slaughterhouse-Five, all I could think was that if I were a character in the book I would definitely be poor old Edgar Derby. He’s definitely the “mom friend”, and while some of this obviously comes from him being older and feeling the need to look out for the young boys he was surrounded by, I still definitely relate to that feeling of responsibility to taking care of the ones around me. He’s a high school social studies teacher, so he doesn’t really fit in with the “war hero” character. I think this explains some of his compassion and care for the young soldiers he has been grouped with. These teenage boys who have been shipped to another country to fight in a war they had nothing to do with are the same age as his students and I imagine that this pains him some. All these teenage boys who are being killed in this war should have had their whole lives ahead of them, like the students he taught and I think that Derby’s age allows him to somewhat see through the “glory” of war and makes him want to provide what comfort and stability he can towards these young boys.
One of the reasons I feel so drawn towards Derby is that he feels to me like one of the few characters who has real emotional depth throughout the novel. Billy in particular as the main character is very detached and apathetic for a large portion of the book, which I don’t blame him for; not only does it make sense for him to cope with this traumatic experience by checking out but also it goes with his Tralfamadorian mindset and outlook on life and the passage of time. However because of Billy’s emotional distance, I as a reader who is looking for an emotional connection to the characters, turned to Derby for this. In a book full of characters who don’t feel emotionally connected to the story, it was a relief to me to see a character who still has passion for the experience.
When he is the only one to stand up to Howard Campbell Jr., I loved him for that. I don’t think that I myself would ever be in a position where I felt so apathetic that I wouldn’t stand up to an actual Nazi to defend my values, because I can never keep my mouth shut as is. I admire him as a character but also as a person to be able to keep his morals and purpose for joining the war. The reason Derby is so old yet still in the war was because of his sense of duty to America, but more importantly, the American values of freedom and liberty. As a World War I veteran, he has already served his country, yet he chose to come back again in his age to once again defend what he believes in and that dedication is something I admire in him. Whether Vonnegut agrees with his speech to Campbell or finds it satirical is irrelevant because I think it says more about Derby’s resolve and determination than what Vonnegut thinks about it or the point he may be trying to make about the scene.
I think another part of Derby's character that might draw people to him is the fact that every time he's mentioned, it's poor old Edgar Derby, who was shot in Dresden for stealing a teapot. (So it goes.) Combining that constant reminder with everything you know about Derby, from his age to his pride and devotion, it becomes a tragically unfair death. In any other book, it would be the one that's dragged out. There would be plenty of time devoted to learning about Derby's life and everything he loves, then his untimely death would be depicted in plenty of emotional detail. But that's in another book that doesn't have Tralfamadorians.
ReplyDeleteAs you might be able to guess, I too feel the strongest pull towards Poor Old Edgar Derby. As you say, he's got depth to his character, and, for all that he's sort of a sad character, he's one of the only characters we can feel drawn to at all. It feels like he's a tragic character in ways that Roland Weary is not.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked poor old Edgar Derby. He seemed to truly care for the other soldiers and tried to do his best by them. He was the only person who volunteered to be the "leader". I agree, I think the fact that he is a high school teacher did have a lot to do with the compassion he was able to show his fellow soldiers. I can not imagine what it must be like for Derby, to go form teaching 18 year olds in school to watching them die as he fought along side them.
ReplyDeleteAs we are largely seeing characters through Billy's eyes it is hard to connect with any of the people we meet throughout the novel. However, I would agree that Edgar Derby is the most compelling of all of them. In a book filled with cynicism and irony his humanity shines through. In a different war novel he might have been the main character, but alas any connection we could've made with him is stifled by Billy Pilgrim's dry/non-existent perspective.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think Vonnegut wanted us to take pity on Billy and how war sort of messed up him and his life. However, I couldn't help but feel a special kind of pain for poor old Edgar Derby. The idea of him being the "mom friend" and a mentor to the other characters just makes his death that much sadder, knowing how many people depended on him at one point.
ReplyDeleteI definitely felt an attachment to Derby while reading the book as well. As you said, he definitely is the mom friend and I personally felt that he represented a glimmer of hope and peace in a book that severely lacks both of those ideas. We had a discussion about rare beautiful moments in Slaughterhouse Five, and although Derby isn't a moment, I would characterize his entire character in the category of the rare and beautiful aspects of the novel.
ReplyDelete