Quiet Listenner

Though socially impaired, it seems that Billy picks up on nearly everything around him.  He seems to take the lessons that he has learned from his alien friends and applied what he knows to his life on earth.  He cannot express anything at all. However, when one does not think he is listening, it seems that he is.  "I was there"(Vonnegut, 192).  This quote for Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five comes after Billy is assumed delusional and hysterical.  It is believed by his roommate and others that he is totally insane and not listening to any conversation.  However, it seems that instead, he listens to everything that others say, it is just hard for him to express that.  Additionally, he is very good with remembering colors and different situations.  On multiple occasions, he characterizes that Russians based on their facial structure that no one else recognizes.  He also remembers the orange and black colors of the train cars at his daughters wedding.  Though he cannot communicate effectively, he is very skilled at remembering and interpreting the meaning of things.