Vonnegut, leaves it up to the reader to imagine whether free will is a force Billy must grapple with as he shares Billy's life before and after his war experiences. Since he was a child, Billy has been forced to deal with free will. His father once let him sink to the bottom of a deep pool to teach him how to swim. Billy prefers the bottom of the pool but, against his free will to remain there, he is saved. Later in life, Billy is drafted into the war against his will. As a soldier in Luxembourg, Billy is a joke, lacking training, supplies and proper clothing as he marches through the streets of Dresden. While Billy accepts the Tralfamadorian teachings, his actions point to the futility of free will. Even if he had trained hard, worn the proper uniform, and been a good soldier, he could still have died like the others in Dresden who were much better soldiers than him. However,