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The Depiction of War and Free Will Illusion in Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut
Introduction
    Productions in literature have the capacity to reproduce contemporary social issues. In fact, literature is rightfully reckoned as the mirror of society due to the nature of themes and expressions that authors take into consideration about the life and people of a particular time period; not only they highlight the ongoing trends or issues of the society but also they make significant comment on it (Khaleel, 2018). Every production in literature—in modern literature, it is novel precisely—carries forward the thought process of showing what is happening in the society and at the same time, it conveys the message that makes readers ethically enlightened. In Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut, the theme of destructiveness of war as well philosophical discussion over free will of human beings is used to showcase how mid 20th century people were obsessed about the ideology of free will as well as the storyline interprets finely about the aftermath of war.
The War Devastation and the Character of Willy
    At first, it is significant to note here that Slaughterhouse Five is based on the catastrophically outcomes that war brings into the lives of human beings (Khaleel, 2018). It is the story of Billy Pilgrim who has not gained any exceptional recognition in life; he is funny looking weak youth living in Ilium, New York. In spite of his frail physical structure, he is put into the army and has to share the World War II battlefronts in Germany. The depiction of war shows how destructive it was for some people like Billy. He is not a great supporter of war and he shows his unwillingness while being made ‘Chaplin’s assistant’. However, he is forced to share the battle of Bulge in Germany and ultimately gets captured. He is taken to Dresden as a hostage form where, the horrifying images of the war are put forward. An example of the same can be given in...