December- Managing Your Own Future

Many of the novels that we have read throughout the hero unit have all dealt with the idea of fate. From Oedipus, to Hamlet, to Okonkwo, all of these characters were undeniably fated. The events of all of those stories revolved around their fate and their trying to deviate from it, which was proven impossible by the events that followed. However, in Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut went against that norm. I believe that there is a plan for everybody, however, not that there is no way that they can change that. Billy Pilgrim is fated as well but he does not give in to it. In real life, I think people are more fated by their own nature. It may feel like we are following a path but really I think that we are subconsciously determining it for ourselves. Billy stands for himself and doesn't really let life push him around. Billy's own individual nature is what determines the course of his own life. I like this idea so much better than the idea that there is no way that we can change our fate and whatever we are meant to do is set in stone. I just find that idea to be so unrealistic. Reality is never set in stone and the idea of managing your own future as seen in Slaughterhouse Five, seems like a much better one to me.