Dramatic Irony In Slaughterhouse Five

In the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut we meet the main character, Billy,

and follow him in his adventures for the majority of the story, but as the novel goes on there are

many other interesting characters that don’t get the spotlight as much. Four examples of such

characters are Montana Wildhack, Paul Lazzaro, Edgar Derby, and Eliot Rosewater. Each plays

a significant role in the novel, but is only thought of in the moment of comprehension. Looking

back at these characters reveals how much they contribute to the overall plot.

Montana Wildhack is a porn star abducted by the Tralmadorians shortly after Billy to be

his companion. Over their time together they fall in love and have a child before Billy is sent

back to earth to relive his past or

future moments. She is Billy’s dream girl, known to him as the

girl in a certain picture a friend of his had. She has a locket with a famous phrase of Reinhold

Niebuhr: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the

things I can; and wisdom to know the difference” (77). This phrase is a part of Billy Pilgrim’s

life philosophy, and can be seen in the way he knows about both his and his wife’s deaths, but

does nothing to stop either. Montana is his dream girl, she tries to accept and understand him,

and is a beautiful girl who wants nothing from him, and she has no visible strings. She is almost

the opposite of Billy’s wife, who he sees as unattractive, and never tries to understand Billy.

Another character who seems to understand Billy is his hospital roommate Eliot

Rosewater, the man who introduces Billy to Kilgore Trout. Eliot Rosewater is a captain in World

War I, who just happens to be in the hospital that Billy checks himself into after his nervous

breakdown. He is sympathetic to Billy due to his own war experiences and attempts to be a polite

man to anyone when possible. He had a love for science fiction books and had: “a tremendous

collection of science-fiction paperbacks under his bed. He had brought them to the hospital in a

steamer trunk. Those beloved, frumpish books gave off a smell that permeated the ward— like

flannel pajamas that hadn’t been changed for a month, or like Irish stew” (127). He is described

as twice as smart as Billy, and burying himself in science fiction to re-invent himself and his

universe.

He has a cynical view on life and tends to experiment with things such as calling

people “dear” and: “experimenting with being ardently sympathetic with everybody he met”

(130). This proves that despite his cynical and alcoholic exterior he is trying to better himself and

his universe.

Edgar Derby was also an inherently nice person. Derby’s death is also one of the better

examples of dramatic irony in the novel. Edgar Derby is introduced when Billy is in the prison

camp hospital after being on the train. He is an idealistic high school teacher, slightly older than

the average American soldier and ends up being elected head of the American prisoners. He

dreams of letters to write to his wife and generally cares about the people around him. His death

in the novel is a good example of dramatic irony because he survives the bombing of the city of

Dresden only to be executed for a trite crime: “One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for

taking a teapot that wasn’t his” (1). His death is mentioned on the first page of the novel as proof

that the majority of it

happened.

Lastly is the shifty Paul Lazzaro, the man who vowed to avenge Roland Weary, and thus

kill Billy. He is also mentioned in the first page of the novel: “Another guy I knew really did

threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunmen after the war” (1). Paul Lazzaro is

introduced mid-novel as the “worst American body” which belonged to a car thief from Cicero.

He is a small, disgusting young man who was in the same boxcar as Weary when he died from

gangrene. He gave his word to Weary that he would avenge said death and make Billy Pilgrim

pay for “killing” Weary. He threatens to have Billy shot one day in the distant future, which

seems to work in scaring Billy because that’s how he sees himself dying. His role in the novel is

one similar to a rabid dog. He is shifty, mean and lives for revenge.

All the characters in the novel contributed in someway to the flow of the moments, but

each of the four characters above were given some of the most impact. Montana for being Billy’s

ultimate fantasy, being understanding and virtually string-less. Paul Lazzaro for being one of the

main bad guys who everyone hates and enjoys at the same time because he like a Chihuahua

with all bark and almost no bite. Edgar Derby for the older, softer gentleman whose death also

ends up being an example of dramatic irony. Lastly Eliot Rosewater who introduces Billy to the

Kilgore Trout books. The novel certainly wouldn’t have been as interesting without these

characters, although they only have small parts in the novel.