Friday, May 21, 2010
Slaughter House Five: Question 2
In the novel, it is believed that there is no such thing as free will. Billy does not have the choice of deciding what to do next or where he is going to travel in time and when. The Tralfamadorians believe in this because of how they see the fourth dimension, but they also say that Earthlings are the only ones who believe in free will because they do not see time like this. Earthlings think that everything they do is their choice, but according to the Tralfamadorian's, because they can't see the fourth demention, these events have always happened and will always happen, but they just don't realize it. In a way, everything that all living creatures do is fate because it is all played out even before that life had been created. Throughout Vonnegut's life, he has been put through many situations that he never wanted to be in, like the war and the bombing of Dresden. All of these events morphed his view on life and led him to believe in the idea that there is no free will.
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6 comments:
Exactly, the book is just about how life is already played out for you and we really don't have all the power we think we do. As humans, we are limited to what we know and have lived through. But as Tralfamadorians, they can see their whole life planned ahead for them, unchangeable.
I agree with this statement completely. In the book, Billy has no control over where he goes, and what he chooses, will always be chose. Events in life are unchangeable and fate will always control free will.
The Tralfamadorians also say that Earth is the only planet with the concept of free will because they dont beleive in time and dont realize that they will always and have always lived their life the same way
I totally agrea with the way that Kurt Vonnegut's experiences changed the way that he viewed the fate vs free will thing. When you are a soldier you have no free will and you just have to follow orders, which is like fate. I think this made him dismiss free will.
This completly sums up what Kurt Vonnegut was trying say through out the book. The fact that Billy can jump through time, and re live situations but cannot alter them, truly proves the fact that there is no free will.
I definitely agree with what you said about how the Tralfamadorians have free will because they can see the fourth dimension. We as humans are the opposite, having lives planned by fate. Although, Billy is human and he can jump through time, he has no control over it. This definitely proves that free will does not exist.
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