Fate and Free Will in Slaughterhouse Five Coursework

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Fate and Free Will in Slaughterhouse-Five
Free will entails the ability of an individual to alter and make their own decisions. In the novel Slaughterhouse-Five the protagonist, Billy, is deprived the right to make his decisions. Fate entails the development of actions outside a person’s control, they are considered to be determined by supernatural powers. Throughout the novel, Billy’s life is influenced by these two concepts of fate and free will. He believes that it’s by fate that death happens and he has no free will or control over it. His life in captivity with the Tralfamadorians is one that teaches Billy a lot about fate and free will. It is by design that he marries Valencia whether he likes it or not. This essay focuses on Billy’s marriage of Valencia, the death tragedies that surrounded Billy, and the life with Tralfamadorians and their overall influence to his fate and free will.
Billy has no free will to make decisions, all his actions are predetermined to happen and he has no control over. Billy is offering to marry the daughter of the school founder, where he had gone to complete his studies after ultimately getting out of the war. “Billy didn't want to marry ugly Valencia. She was one of the symptoms of his disease. He knew he was going crazy when he heard himself proposing marriage to her, when he begged her to take the diamond ring and be his companion for life” (5.28.4). This quote illustrates the belief of free will and fate as set out by the Tralfamadorians. In this quote Billy dint like Valencia but they end up getting married. According to the Tralfamadorians whatever happens was set to happen, fate. Therefore, the marriage between Valencia and Billy was set to happen whether he liked it or not, the free thinking or free will had no influence over his decision to marry Valencia.
Billy has no control over fate and defines death as something that he has no control over. One of his common word, “…so it goes” is used to specifically indicate that Billy cannot control what happens. This is one of the common quotes that he uses to accept death as something that he has no control over....