Slaughterhouse-Five: Irony 3 key examples

The narrator is talking to fellow former soldier Bernard O'Hare about the book he will write on Dresden, a meta-reference to Slaughterhouse-Five itself. As the narrator self-referentially identifies, the situation is ironic. The irony is a product of the situation's absurdity: stealing a teapot results in the death penalty immediately after thousands were killed in a massive firebombing. The irony reveals the seemingly arbitrary nature of death and destruction during war time; there is no rhyme or reason to who lives or dies.

There are a myriad of similarly ironic moments throughout the novel. Vonnegut often uses irony to bring a sense of humor to the seriousness of war, and to almost mock the notion of war itself, which is riddled with contradictions and absurdities. The actual climax of the novel is not necessarily the execution of Edgar Derby, but rather is the bombing of Dresden and the subsequent burning of the bodies. Regardless, the ironic execution of Derby reminds the reader that death comes for everyone—a soldiers, civilians, and thieves alike. Similarly, the death of one man can appear unjust next to the equally arbitrary slaughter of thousands. But, as Billy Pilgrim would say, so it goes.

The scene is an allusion to fairy tale of Cinderella, which was just performed by the English prisoners of war. In the fairy tale, Prince Charming identified Cinderella through the fit of her shoe, and Vonnegut is playfully referencing that moment as Billy finally finds a new pair of shoes that fit him. The moment is situationally ironic because Billy Pilgrim is currently a prisoner of war in enemy territory. He is, in other words, in a terrible situation, a far cry from being a princess swept off of her feet by a charming prince. The sheer absurdity of the reference makes it darkly humorous.

And yet, Pilgrim is in some ways chosen by fate. He manages to survive the war against all odds, when most of his fellow soldiers are killed in one way or another. He was also the lone survivor of a plane crash. Cinderella, through the help of some magic, is saved from her destitute life against all odds; similarly, things just seem to work out for Billy Pilgrim, no matter how life-threatening the situation appears. While an ironic comparison, the Cinderella allusion highlights Billy Pilgrim's unlikely fate in an amusing way.

The optometrist barbershop quartet is mentioned frequently throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, and often triggers memories of wartime. The above simile, comparing the guards to a barbershop quartet which was not singing, explains why that might have been the case. The simile works to humanize the guards, who are almost entertaining to Billy Pilgrim in this moment when, for the rest of Dresden, the world is burning. The juxtaposition between the people sheltering in the slaughterhouse, and the people burning alive in the rest of the city, makes the simile somewhat absurd: how could Pilgrim think of a barbershop quartet in this moment? A major throughline of the text, however, is that suffering is an inevitable part of life during which one should think of happier moments. This perspective on life, articulated by the Tralfamadorians, is being enacted by Billy Pilgrim as he thinks of a barbershop quartet while looking at his Nazi captors.

It is worth noting that this moment is also one of verbal irony, as the prisoners and guards are some of the only people to survive the Dresden bombing despite sheltering in a slaughterhouse. This irony contributes to the jocular tone of the scene, which clashes with the seriousness of the bombing. Overall, the verbal irony and the barbershop quartet simile alike both evidence Pilgrim's unique perspective on how to cope with the horror of war, one inspired by the Tralfamadorians.