Billy is a quiet, passive chaplain's assistant in World War II who survives the bombing of Dresden and later becomes a wealthy optometrist in Ilium, New York. He travels uncontrollably back and forth through time, experiencing all moments of his life out of chronological sequence. His complete lack of traditional heroic qualities makes him an easy target for bullies, though his exposure to alien philosophies gives him a stoic acceptance of his circumstances.

An author and former American private who survived the bombing of Dresden alongside Billy Pilgrim. He struggles for years to write a meaningful book about the massacre, ultimately embracing an unconventional, fragmented storytelling approach. He relies heavily on alcohol to cope with his memories before reaching out to old friends to reminisce about Europe.

An eighteen-year-old, deeply unpopular soldier from Pittsburgh who acts out his insecurities by bullying weaker individuals. He arrives in the European theater heavily armed with specialist weapons and takes profound joy in discussing violence and torture. He desperately needs Billy Pilgrim to remain alive so Weary himself does not become the weakest member of their group.

An older, mature American soldier and former high school teacher who felt morally obligated to fight against fascism. He acts as the elected leader of the prisoners and manages to maintain his strong moral principles despite the complete collapse of civilization around him.

A psychopathic American soldier who takes profound pleasure in the concept of revenge. He keeps a mental list of people he intends to harm, fully embracing the cycle of senseless violence perpetuated by the war.

An alien species shaped like toilet plungers, featuring a small hand containing a single eye. They perceive time in four dimensions, viewing all events simultaneously. This perspective gives them a completely fatalistic worldview, reacting to all death with quiet resignation.

Billy's wife and the daughter of a highly successful optometry school owner. She loves Billy deeply and worries constantly about his health, completely unaware that he feels entirely detached from her emotionally.

Billy and Valencia's daughter. She becomes deeply frustrated and concerned about her father's mental state when he begins speaking publicly about alien abductions, taking on a controlling, parental role toward him.

Billy's son, who transforms from a troublesome adolescent into a highly decorated Green Beret fighting in the Vietnam War. He embodies the continuing, generational cycle of American warfare.

A district attorney who served as a private alongside the Narrator during World War II. He is initially skeptical about his friend's ability to capture their war experiences in a book and later develops a keen interest in global population statistics.

The wife of Bernard V. O'Hare. She strongly opposes the glorification of war, expressing concern that any book about their experiences will romanticize the naive soldiers who fought instead of showing them as innocent children.

An Earth actress who is abducted by the Tralfamadorians to serve as a mate for Billy in their public enclosure. She eventually adapts to her captive life and learns the alien philosophy alongside him.

A fellow veteran struggling with severe trauma after accidentally shooting a teenage fireman during the war. He copes with his psychological pain by reading obscure science fiction, using the genre to reconstruct his shattered understanding of the universe.

An obscure science fiction writer whose bizarre stories profoundly influence Billy's worldview. Despite his visionary ideas about aliens and alternative perspectives on human religion, he makes a modest living managing newspaper delivery boys.

A seventy-year-old retired military man and Harvard historian writing a book about World War II. He stubbornly attempts to justify the Dresden bombing in his official history and initially dismisses Billy's firsthand accounts as mental instability.

The twenty-three-year-old fifth wife of Bertram Copeland Rumfoord. She acts as a research assistant, dutifully bringing him books and historical materials about Dresden.

Valencia's father and a highly successful optometrist. He sets Billy up in business, ensuring his son-in-law's financial success, and enjoys singing barbershop quartet songs.

An American Nazi propagandist who attempts to recruit starving American POWs into a unit called the Free American Corps to fight the Russians. He wears a ridiculous uniform featuring a ten-gallon hat and a swastika armband.

A sixteen-year-old German guard. Unbeknownst to either of them, he is a distant cousin of Billy Pilgrim. He attempts to lead the American prisoners through the slaughterhouse but frequently gets lost.

A Maori prisoner of war forced to excavate corpses alongside Billy in the ruined city. The horrific conditions of the corpse-mining operation cause him intense physical illness.