Powerless to Time?

"Why me?"

"That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?"

"Yes." Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a blob of polished amber with three ladybugs embedded in it.

"Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why."

Throughout the course of the novel, as Billy has become "unstuck in time," a source of power emerges over Pilgrim and his grasp on reality. As he develops a relationship with the Tralfamadorians, he learns that free will is a silly and meaningless concept, one that should be disregarded entirely. Billy, throughout his time traveling adventures, is presented as the quintessential common man. He is neither a hero or exceptionally brilliant at anything in particular. However, time does begin to serve quite the role in his life. When interacting with the Tralfamadorians, Vonnegut's cynical view of human nature is most definitely expressed. Billy believes as the Tralfamadorians do, and when the subject of war is breached, "even if the wars didn't keep coming like glaciers, there would still be plain old death."

My question, as previously defined, is How does someone of something ultimately exercise complete power over another individual?

Billy becomes powerless in fostering the destiny he would have preferred. He loses his faith in free will through his time traveling and all comes to naught. He even takes on the mantra, "so it goes," every time someone passes away. His indifference, I believe, is the result of his time travel, his loss with reality.

Beloved: Powerless to the Past?

"I don't want to know or have to remember that. I have other things to do: worry, for example, about tomorrow, about Denver, about Beloved, about age and sickness not to speak of love. But her brain was not interested in the future. Loaded with the past and hungry for more, it left her no room to imagine, let alone plan for, the next day."

Throughout the novel, power and possession are large contenders for what events occur. Readers are constantly analyzing the struggles of the characters in their plight to free themselves from the past. In fact, the question that begs to be asked throughout the novel is: Will the characters ever be able to truly free themselves from the past?

As Beloved’s ghost haunts 124, Sethe, Denver and Paul D. are unable to face the horrors of the past and effectively move past them. It is when Beloved physically manifests before their eyes that they come to terms with the fact that the past that continues to fragment their lives today must be challenged head on.

My question, as previously defined, is: How does someone of something ultimately exercise complete power over another individual?

Beloved’s physical presence is a reminder of the past that is so painful to resurrect. It is a reminder of the torture and suffering these people endured. However, her presence does not merely remind the characters of the pain experienced years ago. Her toll on Sethe and Denver is obvious throughout the novel. It also serves to restore a history to a group of individuals whose history had gone unnoticed and unappreciated. As with all issues in life, we must face our fears to effectively move past them, and in turn, learn from our pasts.

Just as Paul D. reminds Sethe that we all need a little more of “tomorrow” and less “yesterday,” we must use the past as a learning experience.

The Stranger: Powerful or Powerless?

"As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself—so like a brother, really—I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate."

Throughout the entire novel, it is most definitely apparent that Meursault seems to regard human affairs with a cold indifference. He observes, never casts judgments, and remains impartial in matters of the heart. Most of the novel, it is not apparent whether or not there is a higher power ruling his actions and morals. However, it is not until the chaplain suggests he turn to God before his execution that Meursault finally comes to the realization that the world is also indifferent to the suffering of people. Since he has no one else at the end of the novel to relate to, he finds companionship in the indifference of the world, regarding it as “a brother.” Meursault attempted to grasp at this concept throughout the novel, but it wasn’t until he realized the inevitability of his death that he finally accepted this generalization.

My big question, as previously defined, is: How does someone of something ultimately exercise complete power over another individual?

In a way, Meursault was overpowered by this realization and surrendered to the world, his "brother." Hoping to see “a large crowd of spectators that greet [him] with cries of hate” the day of his execution, Meursault demonstrates his belief that the cold indifference of the world controls him and his fate. This proves that he is not powerful, but rather powerless. He does not care to ameliorate his situation, and does not care that he is not in control.