Fatalism In Slaughterhouse-Five
Science Fiction: the Vessel for Fatalism
Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut creates an environment shaped by elements of science fiction. These elements, notably time travel and alien contact, make the novel "a science fiction that deals with the topic of free will versus fatalism," (Isaacs 408). Throughout the novel Billy remains "unstuck in time," seeing his whole life flash before his eyes in a random order of events (Vonnegut 15). This random order forces the reader to examine the events in the novel the same way that a Tralfamadorian would, adding to the element of science fiction. Because of the creative freedom associated with the science fiction genre, Vonnegut uses it to express a theme of fatalism in the novel and "as a way of making those ideas [presented] more palatable," (Lundquist 616).
Science fiction offers a powerful creative license to the author. It allows him to create situations that would never occur in other genres, but still lets the reader consider even the most outrageous of events with the same seriousness associated with realistic scenarios. In Slaughterhouse-Five, the Tralfamadorians who kidnap Billy Pilgrim simultaneously teach both Billy and the reader about their radical way of perceiving time. Unlike humans …show more content…
Because of this experience Vonnegut makes his central statement in the novel denouncing war. By grouping war with fatalism, the reader realizes the absurdity in the Tralfamadorian view because to accept it would also accept that war and the atrocities associated with them as inevitable. Billy reflects the "alternative" that Isaacs describes. Through his travels in time, Billy knows what will happen in every event he relives. His reluctance to change any event for better or worse adds to Vonnegut 's characterization of him as an actor playing a role in his own
Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut creates an environment shaped by elements of science fiction. These elements, notably time travel and alien contact, make the novel "a science fiction that deals with the topic of free will versus fatalism," (Isaacs 408). Throughout the novel Billy remains "unstuck in time," seeing his whole life flash before his eyes in a random order of events (Vonnegut 15). This random order forces the reader to examine the events in the novel the same way that a Tralfamadorian would, adding to the element of science fiction. Because of the creative freedom associated with the science fiction genre, Vonnegut uses it to express a theme of fatalism in the novel and "as a way of making those ideas [presented] more palatable," (Lundquist 616).
Science fiction offers a powerful creative license to the author. It allows him to create situations that would never occur in other genres, but still lets the reader consider even the most outrageous of events with the same seriousness associated with realistic scenarios. In Slaughterhouse-Five, the Tralfamadorians who kidnap Billy Pilgrim simultaneously teach both Billy and the reader about their radical way of perceiving time. Unlike humans …show more content…
Because of this experience Vonnegut makes his central statement in the novel denouncing war. By grouping war with fatalism, the reader realizes the absurdity in the Tralfamadorian view because to accept it would also accept that war and the atrocities associated with them as inevitable. Billy reflects the "alternative" that Isaacs describes. Through his travels in time, Billy knows what will happen in every event he relives. His reluctance to change any event for better or worse adds to Vonnegut 's characterization of him as an actor playing a role in his own