Slaughterhouse-Five: Dehumanization

"When food came in, the human beings were quiet and trusting and beautiful.  They shared."  (Slaughterhouse-Five p. 70)

In this part of the novel, Billy and Weary are being transferred to a German camp for prisoners of war.  Billy lets us know that the war is almost over, and the Germans are running out of space for their prisoners.  While the prisoners are kept in trains, they are fed through ventilators.  The ventilators are a symbol of life and health - through these openings in the train cars, Billy can see the outside world, eat, drink, and deposit waste.

This type of prison dehumanizes the passengers just as Nazi war camps.  The passage above mimics this dehumanization by stating that the prisoners were "human beings," not Americans or prisoners.  This suggests that the author believes war turns all humans involved into animals.  Moral rules and instincts no longer apply to the winning team - only the "losers" or prisoners display admirable qualities.  This is shown when he says "they shared," which is a basic value of humanity.  In the real world, prisoners are less civilized than the rest of population.  The author points out this irony to criticize the changing of mindset in war.