Cinderelli is Billy Pilgrim??

"The boots fit perfectly.  Billy Pilgrim was Cinderella, and Cinderella was Billy Pilgrim." (p. 185)

I am sure that anyone who is living today has seen or heard the tale of Cinderella. The girl who lived a terrible life, cleaning up after her stepmother and stepsisters, until she met her fairy godmother and prince.  Is Billy Pilgrim really the male version of Cinderella? I am not quite sure.  I mean there are things that make them identical, but there are also things that make them completely different.

They are identical in the sense that they both went from living a terrible life to living a better one.  Both their fathers died when they were at a young age.  For Cinderella it was after he brought home her stepmother and stepsisters.  For Billy it was in the year of 1944 after a hunting accident.  After her father died, her step family revealed their true nature.  They were cruel to her and made her move up to the attic and work as their maid. If I were Cinderella I would not accept that.  Yes she was little, but she still had her title of being from a wealthy family.  I mean they lived during the medieval times so her step mother can't take away her title, right? Billy had a terrible life because he had to fight during WW2 where he became a prisoner.  Just like Cinderella, he didn't choose to take part in the war.  He was sent by the government to fight for his country. Wow. That had to suck.  After they both lived that difficult life, a miracle happened.  They both went down a path that led them to a shoe.  For Cinderella it was a glass slipper and for Billy it was a boot.  The first time they tried it on it had fit perfectly.  The glass slipper led Cinderella to her prince while the boot led Billy to Dresden which would eventually save him from the war.  After that, Billy went home and met his princess, a rich girl who's father owned the school he was attending.  He got married to Valencia while Cinderella got married to Prince Charming and they both lived a happily ever after. Well sorta.

After their marriage is when Cinderella and Billy's similarities drift apart.  Billy married a woman he absolutely despises and only married her because of the money. RUDE! Cinderella married her prince because she loved him.  As soon as Billy became rich, he forgot who he was and didn't really stay friends with his old poor friends, meanwhile Cinderella did not forget who she was (skip to 7:22).  We assume Cinderella lived a happily ever after because she is a fairytale, but we do know that Billy didn't live a happily ever after.  He now has a daughter who does not stop bothering him and a wife who annoys him and died early in his daughter's life.

Vonnegut should have just put that Billy is like Cinderella. Not that he is Cinderella because although the beginning of their lives are very similar, the rest of their lives are very different.  Cinderella's tale is a happy fairytale and Billy's is a depressing story.  Why couldn't Billy just love Valencia that way she was and try to make her happy? Additionally, if he really couldn't stand her why would he freakin marry her?! I hate when people just go for someone's money! They don't think of the effect it may have on the person if he/she ever found out.  Cinderella is a kind and gentle person while Billy is a cruel and selfish old man.  He didn't make his life worth living because he always had a negative opinion about life.  Lesson from this chapter? Try to be like Cinderella.  Think of positive things and always try to make your dreams come true.  You will see that life has a lot to offer and that its worth living.  Don't try to guess your future like Billy did, just live in the present and sometimes think about your future.  If you do this your life will be a lot more exciting and not so boring.