Ch.2 (entry #1)

In the second chapter of SH 5 Vonnegut introduces a very typical kind of character. This character is none other than Roland Weary. We learn a lot about Roland's personality and character quality in this chapter because of Vonnegut's use of characterization. Weary "was only eighteen, was at the end of an unhappy childhood spent mostly in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania...he was stupid, fat, and mean."  Roland was not a popular child when he was growing up in Pennsylvania.  He was so unpopular that Roland was frequently ditched by other children. Roland hated being ditched more than anything. Getting ditched more than likely lowered Roland's self esteem. Vonnegut tells us that Roland would often find someone less popular than himself, and take out his frustration on that person by teasing or beating them up. The reason I call Roland a typical character is because he is the bully. Roland is the average high school bully who harasses others because of  suppressed memories he himself has not yet gotten over. We also learn that Roland enjoys torture and death very much, so much that it is almost all he talks about. I believe that Vonnegut is using indirect characterization to show the audience that Roland has a sort of dark and twisted personality.