Slaughterhouse-Five - Dramatic Irony

"You needn't worry about bombs, by the way. Dresden is an open city. It is undefended, and contains no war industries or troop concentrations of any importance." (pg. 146)

This quote is an example of dramatic irony. The characters (minus Billy because he's a time traveller or whatnot) believe that Dresden has a zero percent chance of being bombed. They believe that the Allied troops would aim for more important cities. The irony in this is the Dresden was one of the worst bombings in history. Its just this peaceful little city, and then all of a sudden, boom. Its gone. The reader knows this because of history and because both Vonnegut and Billy have told us. Also, this reinforces the theme of the destructiveness of war. Even though the citizens of Dresden should have been safe, the Allied troops bomb their city. No one knows the extent of the damage of a war until it is too late.