Literary Argument on Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five - Essay Example

s the assignment was due Literary Argument on Kurt Vonneguts novel Slaughterhouse-Five The novel “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut narrates the life story of an American soldier, Billy Pilgrim. Billy being “unstuck in time” experiences different parts of his life randomly. He keeps on traveling backward and forward in time. The incidents in his life as an American soldier during the war, then as a prisoner of war in Germany, and as a family man in America after the war are relived by him. He is also relives that part of his life when his abducted by the aliens of the Tralfamadore and the moment of his death. His thinking undergoes a radical change after his abduction by the Tralfamadorians. Tralfamadorians The story begins with the recounting of Billy Pilgrim describing the various occasions of his life. But he keeps shifting from one event to another. The episodes of his life like his honeymoon, plane crash and German captivity are mentioned by him but the order of the events is very chaotic. At the same time, he is reliving the different parts of his life. “He is in a constant state of stage fright, he says, because he never knows what part of his life he is going to have to act in next”. (Vonnegut). During these narrations, he drifts from his life as an American soldier to the present life of an affluent optometrist. In between he also gives an account of the events that place when is captured by the Germans and when is on the planet of Tralfamadore.He goes on to describe the Tralfamadorians who can see in four dimensions. The fourth dimension is time which differs their attitude towards life from that of the Earthlings. Tralfamadorians are able to see all the instances that are going to take place in their future. But they don’t have the power to change the course of happenings in their past, present or future. They are free to pick the moments in their lives they wish to concentrate on. The concepts of past and future do not exist for them. They believe that different things are happening in different places but at the same time. “I am a Tralfamadorian, seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains. All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is”. (Vonnegut). For them time is boundless and nobody has the power to change it. They have no faith in the talk of free will, for they think that each and every moment in one’s life is decided beforehand. This opinion of Tralfamadorians is reinforced by the marriage of Billy with Valencia. “Billy didnt want to marry ugly Valencia……. 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, (Vonnegut, 107). In spite of his dislike of Valencia, Billy marries her for he was destined to do so. He has to accept what fate has decided for him even though he is not in favor of it. In the end of the novel he accepts this fact making it easier for him to face his death. Beliefs Represented By The Tralfamadorians On Fate & Free Will The Tralfamadorians are representative of the belief that everything in this world happens according to the will of fate and humans have no control on the power of this invincible fate. Their own situation proves this fact. Although they know what is going to happen in the future, they are unable to alter the course of their life which is already designed by fate. Humans are also in the same position; they also have no control over the circumstances of their life. They are trapped in the moments of life as a bug is trapped in amber. However hard they try to free themselves, it is futile to escape from the reach of destiny. Humans have to live the moments of suffering along with the moments of joy. There is no exception to this rule. Tralfamadorians are able to see in four dimensions which make it possible for them to relive the moment they choose to. This means that they can overlook the tragic events and rejoice the happiest moments of the life. In the same way a man cannot change the course of his life but he can change his attitude towards life. Humans do not have the power to decide what is going to happen in their life but they can decide the manner in which they are going to face the events in their life. Instead of thinking of the agonies and sufferings, one should always think of all the nice moments they have been blessed with in their journey of life. The Tralfamadorians believe in this attitude and mock at the human tendency of believing in free will. One Tralfamadorians tells Billy that he has visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe but the talk of free will is present on the Earth only. The Tralfamadorians accept the power of fate and refuse to believe in the concept of free will. For them it is waste of time to worry about the things that are out of one’s control. It is wise to surrender before the will of fate and lead our life happily in the memory of all the good and joyous moments one has in his life.Till the end of the novel it is never made clear whether the Tralfamadorians really exist or they are just the imagination of Billy’s disturbed mind. But, these Tralfamadorians succeed, in changing our views about life, death and time. “Like many of Vonneguts novels, it reveals insights into human nature through a speculative journey in time and space, and whether the Tralfamadorians exist only in Billys head or not is entirely irrelevant to the story”. (Craig). On Death & Eternality Another belief represented by Tralfamadorians is that everything in the world exists at the same time.If there is sorrow there aslo exists happiness by its side. They also feel that each and every person in this universe is always alive, he may be dead in one moment but he is alive in the other moment. So according to them there is no end to life. This thought of theirs is accepted by Billy, “When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse …… Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is So it goes, ”. (Vonnegut, 27). The phrase “So it goes” used by the author again and again in the novel presents the never ending element of life. Billy is so convinced by this perception of Tralfamadorians that even though he is aware of the place and time of his death, he is least bothered by it. He knows that his death in that moment is fated and he can’t change it. He is also conscious of the fact that his life is being continued in some other moment. “With regard to fate, Vonnegut seems to argue that life is easier to live if we, like Billy Pilgrim accept that what will happen has already happened and that we are not in control of our own destiny”. (Taylor). Tralfamadorians’ notion that life never ends is similar to that of the humans’ faith, according to which the body dies but the soul lives forever. So death is not the end but a fresh start to another life. The harsh reality of life which is death and the fear surrounding it is softened by this view. Therefore death should be accepted as a part of life rather than the end of life. On War & Its Acceptance Another fact that along with the good things in the world we also have to accept the terrible ones is represented by the philosophy of the Tralfamadorians. They believe that war is inevitable and we have to accept this fact. The things happening in the world ensue in the way they are designed and the Tralfamadarians have acknowledged their incapability to amend these events. When they are powerless to evade wars the only choice they are left with is to neglect these dreadful events. Humans also have accept this reality. Even if we strive for peace we can’t avoid war if fate has decided so. Humans behave in a way that is decided by fate. “This means that there always will be wars on Earth, that we, people, are "designed" that way. There might be people striving for eternal peace, but those people must be very naive and probably dont know humankinds nature”. (Vit). This thought of the Tralfamadorians is somewhat controversial but it reveals the true state of things in the world. When the demands of the ever-growing population of the humans increase, they give rise to a number of conflicts among the nations of the world. There is a mad scramble for the limited resources of Earth eventually leading to war. In the context of life this view of Tralfamadorians is symbolic of the acceptance that life if is a blend of joy and sorrow. So instead of being disheartened by the sad things of life we should move on with our lives. The hope that sorrow will be replaced by joy should be always alive in our hearts. Acceptance of life with its troubles and sufferings is a major step towards making our lives content. Tralfamadorians are contented with their lives because they have accepted their limitations and learned to live life according to the will of fate. Humans on the contrary are always in aim of controlling their lives according to their own wishes. This leads to depression when they fail in their aims. Though the views and thoughts of the Tralfamadorians are very different from that the humans, there is lot of meaning and logic in their thinking. When one cannot fight the forces of the fate and time, it is prudent to accept it and live life in accordance with them. The views of Tralfamadorians about time are somewhat unconvincing to the human mind but the attitude of focusing on the nice moments of life is acceptable. This attitude can bring a lot of positive difference in our lives. Billy Pilgrim may have imagined about his abduction by the Tralfamadorians but through the medium of Tralfamadorians the author has provided a deep insight in the troubled mind of his main character. His time travel may be not be possible by the humans. But they can try to incorporate the beliefs of Tralfamadorians in their lives. Tralfamadorians represent all that is positive in life. Their behavior is controlled by their indomitable faith in the strength of destiny and time. The theme of the novel is effectively presented through the beliefs of Tralfamadorians. Works cited Engler, Craig. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Childrens Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death. 22 April, 2008. http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue57/classic.html Taylor, A. Andys Anachronisms - Time Travel Book Reviews. 5 May, 2001. 22 April, 2008. http://www.timetravelreviews.com/books/vonnegut_slaughterhouse5.html Vit, Marek. The Themes of Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five. 22 April, 2008. http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/themes.html Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. Dell. 1991. Read More