As I was reading chapter 3, I came across this quote: "Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future" (60).
Since Billy 'time travels', wouldn't that mean that he CAN, in fact, change the past, present, or future in some way? Throughout the book, it's clear that he can time travel. He can travel to different sections of his life, and relive those moments. Because of this "ability" to go to different periods of his life, I can't help but wonder if Billy going back in time will change the past and the present. Or maybe towards the end of the book, it will all catch up to him.
You bring up a very good point. If one had the ability to travel in time, it could be very tempting to change parts of their life that they were unsatisfied with. Billy may regret some of the things he has done in the past, but is probably terrified by the prospect of one infinitesimal detail altering the course of history.
ReplyDeleteBilly's alien friends, the Tralfamadorians, see each moment in time laid out as one story. They would say that there is no way to change the past, present or future because it has already been created.
In answer to your question, I think that Billy is unable to change his fate. He can only observe himself in different parts of life.
I have just gotten to the part in the book where the Tralfamadorians are sharing that information with Billy. They tell him that "The moment is structered that way" (117). But if it weren't, do you think he would try to change anything he had done, or even use that to stop the war? Or would that prospect of altering the course of history scare him out of being the hero? Right now I don't see Billy as being much use in the war, but he's a big part in the Tralfamadorians life, which makes me wonder what his purpose is. He's the main character of the story, but he only plays that part with the aliens.
DeleteTrue...Billy is almost a burden in the war on Earth, but he is treated much differently on Tralfamadore. If he knew that nothing terrible would happen as a result of changing the past, I'm sure he would make different choices in some places.
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