Laughter and Tears

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.
When I read this quote, I immediately thought of Billy Pilgrim. I think this just sums up the effect the war has had on Billy. He live in a kind of dazed state where nothing really makes any sense, and he doesn't know what to do with the senselessness, so he cries. He's such a pitiful character too, that when I read the passages about him bursting into tears for no apparent reason, I can't help but feel the same way.
 I think this quote also relates to Vonnegut in that it serves as a sort of explanation of why he uses the dark humour in his novels. Some of the things I have laughed at throughout this novel are not really funny, and I feel guilty about laughing at them because they are really just so tragic. Vonnegut though, who is a war veteran himself expresses this tragedy in a way that can be, if you share his dark sense of humour, funny. I think this is the author's way of being able to express what has happened to him in the war. He said that he could either laugh or cry, but he preferred to laugh, and that is what is demonstrated on the pages of this novel.
There is a direct contrast then, between Vonnegut and his protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Billy, when frustrated or exhausted, or even when he just doesn't know what else he should be doing, can burst into tears and just cry about his circumstances, while Vonnegut uses humour and laughter as his personal outlet for these emotions.
I find myself able to relate to this quote somewhat as I have used both of these outlets as a response to a numerous amount of situations. Like Vonnegut though, I prefer to laugh. I think it is probably easier to cry when faced with difficult emotions, but I have found that it is more freeing to be able to laugh, and there is less damage done to myself and people around me.