Given the absence of free will and the inevitability of events, there is minimal cause for excessive concern about death. The Tralfamadorians respond to death with the phrase ‘‘so it goes,’’ which Vonnegut frequently uses throughout the novel whenever a person or thing passes away. Billy Pilgrim, through his experiences with time travel, ‘‘has witnessed his own death many times’’ and remains unfazed because he understands he will always exist in the past.