The Dichotomy of Fate and Free Will in Slaughterhouse-Five

Humankind is keen for knowledge Therefore when fate, an event beyond a person’s control, enters a conversation, the controversial topic could kindle some complications. The theory of fate is ancient, many different cultures, societies, authors, and even philosophers have tried to learn and understand this concept, Kurt Vonnegut, being one of those many authors, places his opinions on fate in his novel Slaughterhouse—Five. The story follows the life of Billy Pilgrim as he is thrown through time and put in different areas in his life, Time travel, Billy says, results from the actions of the Tralfamadorians, a superior alien species who have mastered and accepted the concept of fate and time.

Expressing his belief that this alien life force abducted him, Billy relives different parts of his life in random order. Though, as these unexplained acts are bestowed upon him, Billy begins to accept the Tralfamadorian thoughts on fate instead of free will.

Like so, the author’s voice is heard as he expresses his thoughts on time and belief in fate through the use of extraterrestrials in his novel.

Throughout the novel, time is a palpable theme. This is seen by the way Billy is sent to relive different parts of his life in an unchronological wayt Though, as these occurrences become more and more frequent, he starts to adapt to the Tralfamadorian thoughts on time. “The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die, He is very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral”, Billy accepts that time is a force not to 9% with.

Get quality help now

Dr. Karlyna PhD

Verified

Proficient in: Philosophy

4.7 (235)

“ Amazing writer! I am really satisfied with her work. An excellent price as well. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

That time stands where it stands, where events are not forgotten, and things never disappear. He goes on to say, “All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist”.

Thus Vonnegut states, that memories are the window to the past, yet fate is the road to the present and future. Onward, Billy follows his train of thought and continues to venture on this remembrance of the Tralmafadorian experience. “When a Tralmafadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments”. With this given information, the assumption can be made that a Tralmafadorian does not see death as the end of life. Vonnegut is stating that death is enviable, but it is not the end of the memories, thoughts, and feelings towards that person, Progressing through the novel, Vonnegut appears fixed on proclaiming that there is no such thing as free will.

Stating these views as Tralmafadorian thoughts, the story develops. “I am a Tralmafadorian, seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations It simply is“. Clarifying that as time progresses fate will be the guide to the road in life There will be no explanation on why that road, time or place was chosen; fate happens when it happens. The Tralmafadorians move on to add, “Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said before, bugs in amber”. By using the imagery of ‘bugs in amber’, Vonnegut professes the idea of fate and how it effectively demonstrations the still path of life. For humans are slaves to predestination, fate is in control and there is no choice but to follow its lead To furthermore prove Vonnegut‘s conviction, Billy answers the Tralmafadorian. “You sound to me as though you don’t believe in free will”.

The Tralmafadorian responds, “I’ve visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on hundreds more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will”. In other words, there is no such thing as free will. Although there is a massive dichotomy between fate and free will in the novel, there is evidence in which free will could be argued, A contradiction to the belief in fate would be that the author is in fact pro free will. Meaning that all the disarray and excessive focus on the extra-terrestrials, is just a way to prove that this is not the way humans should live Expressing that humans do have a choice and that this character, Billy, is actually crazy and delusional. There are a quite a few sections in the book which question Billy‘s sanity.

First matter, there is evidence to state that the war has caused Billy trauma. It is not uncommon for those who have fought in wars to be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of Lhis disorder include experiencing unexpected flashbacks to the events or enduring feelings of emotional numbness, All of which Billy shows signs of, He frequently ‘time travels’ to reiterated events throughout the story and simply states “so it goes” repeatedly after every death. Though, war was not his only traumatizing experience He suffered greatly from being the sole survivor of a plane crash killing everyone including loved ones. In addition to the hardship, his wife passed away on her way to visit see him at the hospital from the plane crash, These series of unfortunate events are bound to create an abnormal mind set. It is too much trauma for one human being. With the matter at hand, the theory of free will is buried under the mess that is Billyi.

That there is no pleasure in life if you let it take you places, for only misery and pain can be found down that road. Nevertheless, the evidence to prove that Vonnegut is actually pro-fate surpasses the support on free will. Fate and free will are amusing theories to meddle with. This is because an outcome of a situation could lead to a discussion that proves both parties. For ages, people have been trying to prove to the world that it is either or. Though as the definition states, fate is an event out of a person’s control. Then again, so is the future. This, is the point Vonnegut is trying to make in his novel, he proves the theory of fate in such an elaborate and supernatural way, in which the reader has no choice but to fall into lunacy.