Throughout Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, the reader is drawn through the events of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a character who surprisingly survives through the Dresden firebombing and many other tragedies. Ironically, Billy finds comfort in the idea that free will is a fictional belief and that nothing can be done about the surrounding misfortunes that occur throughout his life, or throughout his life. He expresses his thoughts and justifies them with an allegation of alien abduction, and therefore is not taken seriously. Although the text may imply that his alien experiences did not take place, it still recognizes his ideology as valid and as one of the predominant main themes throughout the novel. Vonnegut uses Billy Pilgrim's life experiences as well as other devices to convey the idea that free will is only an illusion and that there will be perpetual difficulties throughout life that all beings face. will be forced to resist. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayThere are several characteristics of Billy Pilgrim that illustrate him as a special character. One of the most notable is that following the firebombing of Dresden, the death of his wife, a plane crash in which he was miraculously the only surviving passenger, as well as Other misfortunes include being abducted by aliens who have unique philosophies about time and the nature of life in general. The Tralfamadorians, the aliens who abduct him, have distinct views on time and space, while the past, present, and future are eternal events that will never stop ending. Essentially, every moment occurs simultaneously and Tralfamadorians possess the ability to see any moment in time, which they describe as the fourth dimension. They declare that they have seen all ages as the end of the world, but that they simply cannot do anything to change the future; it simply is. This belief is contrary to the common idea of ​​free will on Earth, as one Tralfamadorian bluntly stated: "I have visited thirty-one planets...and studied reports on a hundred others. It is only on Earth that we speak of free will” (86). Billy's experience with Tralfamadore constitutes a turning point in the novel where the myth of free will becomes an obvious theme. He is involuntarily drafted into World War II, where he later lives under the firebombs of Dresden, and eventually after the war he is the sole survivor of a plane crash, all of which he did not the power to change. As a result, he develops a mental illness, although it is also implied that there might have been a predisposition in the first place (again, something he has no control over). To add, a quote that appears twice once on a sign in Billy's office, and latterly on the engraving of a medallion from Billy's fellow Tralfamadorian captor, is: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, the courage to accept the things I can't change. change the things I can, and the wisdom to always make a difference (60, 209). This serves to emphasize the theme that certain destinies are set in stone and cannot be changed by any means, and accepting this fact is the easiest way to deal with it. Billy Pilgrim does this and sits back, allowing life to take its course without interference or.