On the surface, Slaughter-house Five, by Kurt Vonnegut presents the idea that humans have no free will. Vonnegut uses the lack of free will as a metaphor for the helplessness that people feel faced with situations beyond their control. However, the novel can be reexamined to show the opposite; not only do we have free will, but the choices we make are supremely important.
Unexplainable tragedies such as war, disease, and famine appear to be inevitable, engendering an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Vonnegut embodies this sense of helplessness in the life of the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Billy’s life is almost entirely controlled by external forces. When Billy was a boy his father used the “sink-or-swim method” to teach him how to swim. …show more content…
However, people in the same situation as Billy make choices that allow them to live better lives. Edgar Derby, a fellow soldier uses his experiences in the war to become a hero. When Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American Nazi, tries to convince the American troops to fight with him against the Russians, Edgar Derby “spoke movingly of the American form of government, with freedom and justice and opportunities and fair pay for all” (209). Rather than being apathetic and letting Campbell convince the American troops to join forces with the Nazis, Derby stands up for justice and becomes a hero. Vonnegut even wrote, “One of the main effects of war… is that people are discouraged from being characters. But old Derby was a character now”, meaning war makes people listless and indifferent to the world around them, but Derby, unlike Billy, managed to find the courage to break from this trend and choose his own path (208). There are situations that that humans cannot control such as being drafted. But that does not mean we cannot make choices about how to respond to situations life presents. Even the moment when Billy is thrown into the pool can be reexamined to show the importance of individual actions. Billy may have had no choice, but his father did. The actions of Billy’s father left scars that would stick with Billy for the rest of his
Unexplainable tragedies such as war, disease, and famine appear to be inevitable, engendering an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Vonnegut embodies this sense of helplessness in the life of the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Billy’s life is almost entirely controlled by external forces. When Billy was a boy his father used the “sink-or-swim method” to teach him how to swim. …show more content…
However, people in the same situation as Billy make choices that allow them to live better lives. Edgar Derby, a fellow soldier uses his experiences in the war to become a hero. When Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American Nazi, tries to convince the American troops to fight with him against the Russians, Edgar Derby “spoke movingly of the American form of government, with freedom and justice and opportunities and fair pay for all” (209). Rather than being apathetic and letting Campbell convince the American troops to join forces with the Nazis, Derby stands up for justice and becomes a hero. Vonnegut even wrote, “One of the main effects of war… is that people are discouraged from being characters. But old Derby was a character now”, meaning war makes people listless and indifferent to the world around them, but Derby, unlike Billy, managed to find the courage to break from this trend and choose his own path (208). There are situations that that humans cannot control such as being drafted. But that does not mean we cannot make choices about how to respond to situations life presents. Even the moment when Billy is thrown into the pool can be reexamined to show the importance of individual actions. Billy may have had no choice, but his father did. The actions of Billy’s father left scars that would stick with Billy for the rest of his