"When food came in, the human beings were quiet and trusting and beautiful. They shared." -pg 70
This is one of the best examples of sarcasm that Vonnegut uses in the novel. This is the part where Billy is on the American prisoners of war train on his way into Germany. They Americans in the train are starving, cramped, dying of disease (so it goes), and probably extremely cantankerous, to put it lightly. Instead of describing the horror in all its graphic-ness, Vonnegut uses extremely obvious sarcasm. The sarcasm emphasizes how indescribably horrible it was by not describing it. Leaving the details up to the imagination makes the details that much more dramatic. The humans in the train were probably the exact opposite of quiet, trusting, and beautiful. The frequent use of sarcasm give the novel snarky, clever tone, while still achieving the meaning it intends to.
I used this quote, too! I think Vonnegut is dehumanizing the prisoners in order to emphasize the treatment of humans by humans. Vonnegut almost makes it seems as if we are watching the prisoners through a cage at a zoo. Maybe we are the aliens! (Hi Lizzie :D)
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