Slaughter House-Five Theme: Loss of free will is affected by a parallel of controllable and uncontrollable events. By Kurt Vonnegut

In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's unique vision of time and travel reveals his philosophical view toward the concept of free will. Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut argues that the loss of free will is affected by a parallel of controllable and uncontrollable events that occur in the life of the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut argues that Billy's loss of free will results from his experiences in life, specifically, his childhood, marriage, and participation in war. The dark humored novel stresses the point that given the ability to harness free will, i.e. control…