Fate And Free Will In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five

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Humans enjoy choices. Whether the decision is putting on a coat in the morning or participating in an exhilarating activity like skydiving, every decision starts with the ability to make a choice. That ability to decide reflects a state of free will. Free will tells us we are essentially is in charge of our choices. Fate guides those who have no control over their choices. While the origin of fate and free will remain a mystery, these ideas can be traced back for centuries and found in our daily lives: in our code of ethics, politics, and religions. Kurt Vonnegut wrestles with the coexistence of fate and free will, ultimately arguing fate dominantes. The Tralfamadorians provide a unique perspective towards fate. As Billy Pilgrim becomes …show more content…

Although Vonnegut uses epithets, such as “ Poor old Edgar Derby,” and directly telling the reader he will die in Dresden to make his fate clear, Derby is one of the few characters who demonstrates the importance of choice. When Howard W. Campbell, Jr., an American Nazi, comes to Dresden in hopes of persuading the American soldiers to leave Dresden and fight the Communists on the Russian front, he receives the following response from …show more content…

But old Derby was a character now. [...] Derby raised his head, called Campbell a snake. He corrected that. He said snakes could help being snakes, and that Campbell, who could help being what he was, was something much lower than a snake or a rat- or even a blood-filled tick. (209) Vonnegut makes this part of the novel fascinating on several levels. Not only does Vonnegut directly confront the reader with the literary mechanism he used to write Slaughterhouse-Five, but he also offers a possible explanation for the use of fate throughout the novel. Vonnegut’s use of fate emphasizes an overwhelming sense of helplessness and loss during wartime. When Derby stands up to Campbell, he proves that even in a world gone terribly wrong, free will remains. Although Billy’s demonstration of free will falls short of Derby, Billy also proves he still can make independent

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