Slaughterhouse-Five Post

My big question is: in a world where media and other people tend to shape us, how do we define our self and let our true self shine? In Slaughterhouse-Five, the main character Billy defiantly strays from the ordinary and allows his experiences to shape him. He is unique because he claims that aliens abducted him and took him to a planet that does not believe in free will, ignores war, and believes that a person can never die because they are alive in the moments that they lived in. Billy has allowed the alien's ways to define his personality, he is unlike everyone else in that he can time travel and is not necessarily afraid of death. Billy knows when he is going to die, and has experienced it. Billy has encountered many unfortunate events, such as the death of his wife and the happenings at Dresden. So it goes. Although it may be argued that the aliens defined him, I believe that they simply helped Billy find his true self and understanding. We never do know, though, if the alien abduction is meant to be true, or if it is simply a part of Billy's imagination. Either way, it has allowed Billy to separate himself from others, and live in the moments of his life.