Kurt Vonnegut takes great care in his depiction of Dresden and the people who live there. He manages to portray what could ostensibly be called a crucial part of the Nazi empire into a seemingly innocent town. He is doing this in an attempt to critique the American bombing of Dresden, that will / had / is happening (depending on your perspective / Billy’s).
The people there are described as remarkably content and peaceful just going about their jobs. He also takes great care to depict the city as a beautiful place that does not deserve to be bombed. Especially interesting is when he describes the city as being capable of “winking”: “one of the most cheerful things a city is capable of doing when the sun goes down is to wink its lights on one by one”. Here Vonnegut, is not just describing the elegance of the city but also personifying it, in an attempt to make us feel worse about the bombing. He even points out that the city is unable to do this while Billy is there, as they must keep the lights out to hide from American bombers. Further showing the city as a victim of American attack.
One of the main arguments for the bombing Dresden was that it was supplying crucial war materials to the Germans. However, Vonnegut specifically addresses this through the peaceful factory that Billy works at. Billy is working at a factory that makes special syrup to help nourish pregnant women. What could be a more moral and noble industry than that of feeding mothers and their babies. By placing this factory in Dresden, it further puts shame on the Americans for their bombing of the town. Overall, I find that Vonnegut does a remarkable job in framing the American bombing of Dresden in the worst light possible.
