What is The Meaning of Free Will in Life

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Recommended: Fate and Free Will novels

Free will is the idea in which individuals can have the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate, and this idea of free will served as a prevalent theme in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut illustrates the absurdity of no free will in Pilgrim’s world through the book’s nonlinear structure and unorganized plot. The novel is constructed as a series of inconsistent flashbacks and future incidents through the eyes of the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Billy Pilgrim is able to time-travel to the past and future, but without any control over his peculiar ability. He can constantly travels through any moment in time without controlling it. Instead of free will existing, the notion of predestination and fate controlled Pilgrim’s life in the novel. Having no free will would dictate the fact that human beings are helpless and have no sense of control over the course of their lives. However, without any sense of free will in the world, life would be hollow and empty as depicted in Pilgrim’s world. The essential idea of free will is imperative because it provides individuals with a greater purpose, value, and significance, which will deeply enrich the meaning of life.

Initially, believing in the fact that individuals cannot choose their own path in life would give life a lesser importance in purpose. The absence of free will would mean that human lives are strictly controlled by destiny and fate, so individuals cannot decide on what purpose they want to serve in life. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Pilgrim was able to travel in time to any point in his life, but he does not choose to time travel willingly: “Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time” (22). Pilgrim knows that he cannot control his ability to time travel, s...

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...not what they desire in life. Issacs, who published the article, “Unstuck in Time: Clockwork Orange and Slaughterhouse-Five”, insist the characters should not desire something different as it is going against their fates. Life will be hollow and empty if it ever would come to this. It would cause a lack of motivation and passion as individuals would not be able to choose what they want to do. Having a drive and determination is sparked by free will because it gives people hope and passion to fight for a meaningful and significant life. Without a doubt, free will is not a merely a privilege, but a moral right that everyone deserves.

Works Cited

Issacs, Neil D. “Unstuck in Time: Clockwork Orange and Slaughterhouse-Five.”

Literature Film Quarterly. 1 (1973): 129-130.Print.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dell Publishing, 1969. Print.

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