Slaughterhouse: Science Fiction Literature and Humanity

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Science Fiction Literature and Humanity
Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five introduces the reader to the ideal science fiction in the world of literature. The novel written on the accounts of the Second World War of the 1945, presents a funny and interesting plea against butchery. The character Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time after he was abducted by the aliens from planet Tralfamadore. Another interesting science fiction writer is Philip K. Dick in his novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. The novel was first published in the year 1968, in the post-apocalyptic San Francisco. It presents the effects of the nuclear war which led to the deterioration of the earth leading to the extinction of some species of animals due to nuclear poisoning. In the novel animals are considered a sign of status and empathy and an encouragement towards rearing animals. Kurt uses his world war experiences and narrates them through Billy Pilgrim while Dick focuses on his mental problems and excessive drug abuse as his emotional regulator. Vonnegut presents his argument that its only human beings that have a free will while Dick believes that empathy is the unique characteristic of humans.
Vonnegut propagates the idea that free will is what defines the human character. According to him free will is when one has the ability to control the outcome of their actions by choice or the ability to influence the future outcomes based on specific actions of an individual. In the novel Billy Pilgrim is captured by the aliens and he explains the concept of free will to the aliens. Interestingly the Tralfamadorians do not understand the concept free will and to them there is nothing like free will. They responded to Billy that it’s only on earth where they talk of free will and not in the Tralfamadore planet (Vonnegut, 86)). Vonnegut believes that human beings ask themselves why things happen the way they do and in what way they come make the outcome better in future events. On the other hand the Tralfamadorians view all the times as being the same and only enjoy the happy times. The human world is driven by the free will and the desire to make the right decisions in order to add value to their lives. Therefore, every moment of their lives is valuable and they will utilize it effectively in orde...