I Have Given It Back...So It Goes?

As we all know, in Kurt Vonneguts, Slaughterhouse-Five Billy Prilgrim is abducted by Tralfamadores and they teach him that everything happens because it does and there is no need to emotionally attach yourself to those situations. They tell him that whenever someone dies there is no need to mourn because that person is just dead at that particular time in life. We are shown how Billy transform because he says whenever he heres about someones death all he says is "So it goes."

The Handbook of Epictetus also has a way of dealing with unfortunate experiences. Although both of these two didactic pieces of writings have completely different principles and different paths in which each one wants to take the reader, they have a diverse look on the same topic. As I was reading Epictetus I came across a very noteworthy suggestion, "Never say about anything, 'I have lost it,' but instead, 'I have given it back'"(Section 11) Although both of these are not implying the same connotation of when some one dies, because in Slaughterhouse-Five when they say "So it goes" it means that it doesnt effect them much, and in the Handbook of Epicectus when an unfortunate event occurs they are told to say, "I have given it back" which in reality has some meaning to it. If we think about it, "given it back" makes a lot more sense then the Tralfamadore outlook on these happenings because they just shrug and dont appreciate that person, in Epictetus they are noting the death of that person but are saying that gave him back to the person who gave me it in the first place. He then goes on to clarify that we dont need to care about how the "giver" (Section 11) asked for it back. We need to act like it wasn't ours to keep in the first place and that we should use the example of "travelers at an inn" (Section 11) they are staying in that room, but they need to keep in mind that the room isn't theirs and they need to respect the rightful owner.

In my opinion, I agree more with the Handbook of Epictetus because when they say this phrase may seem harsh and depressive they are actually acknowledging the truth behind what really happens when we as Christian die which is we are given back to God.