The Traumatized Doctor vs The Traumatized War Veteran

Something that has really captivated me from Slaughter House 5 is the ability that Kurt Vonnegut has to portray flash backs. 

About a year ago I remember I started watching the series lost . The plot of the series  is that the passengers of Oceania flight101 crash on a mysterious island .The Characters of the series have all had pretty traumatizing life's. Jack the main character was an alcoholic doctor who's dad was also an alcoholic.Jacks drinking problem eventually destroyed his career as a doctor and wrecked his marriage. John another of the characters of the series has also had a tough life. John didn't have a father while growing up .One day a an older man  called Anthony cooper appears in his life and claims to be his biological father.Then Anthony and John become really close they, hunt together, they fish together and do a number of other activities together .Suddenly Anthony informs John that he is in desperate need of a kidney because his kidney is failing .John volunteers his kidney and ends up donating it to Anthony.Soon as John donates his kidney to Anthony , Anthony stops talking to him.John realizes that Anthony only wanted him for his Kidney .Later on Anthony steals John some money and they begin fighting,as they are fighting Anthony pushes John of building consequently leaving John in a weal chair.John is left without a Kidney, without a father ,and without his legs.

    Through out the series there are many characters like John and Jack .All of the characters have suffered and are traumatized .When the characters crash in the island they begin to have a lot of flash backs like Billy in Slaughter House 5 .Jack suddenly finds himself fighting with his wife or performing a dangerous operation , .The same happens with John who finds him self hunting with his father or waking up from the Kidney transplant. 

      

       As I was watching Lost I remember asking myself how can an author portray a flashback in a book without saying “he remembered”. Kurt Vonnegut seems to have answered my question.He simply strolls away from the Dresden to the Military hospital to Billy s wedding night and so on .Vonnegut portrays flash backs effectively and without pausing the action of the book with a ‘‘Billy remembered”.

      Further more I would like to point out the similarities between Lost and Slaughter House Five. The similarities are obvious both involve traumatized characters that are constantly having uncontrolled flash backs.How ever there is a clear difference , the characters in Lost also hallucinate this makes me wonder will Billy start hallucinating ? Will Roland Weary suddenly pop up in Billy s drive way ? Will Billy begin seeing Trafamoldorians on his porch ? It will  be pretty interesting if it did happen .