The public were oblivious to the Dresden tragedy, which pushed Vonnegut to reveal the truth about what happened to open peoples’ eyes to the human capability of cruelty. Playing off of the idea of war and atrocity, a general idea shared between groups in this era was antiwar thinking. Protesters came together to voice their concerns, as Moss elaborates, “The antiwar protesters were dismissed as troublemakers at first, but in time their sentiments were echoed by many among the general population and within the nation’s leadership as well” (“Slaughterhouse” 347). The overall consensus throughout the nation was the hatred of war and the avoidance of it. Citizens did not want to contribute to violence, as is shown in the novel when Billy is speaking to a crowd of protesters and announces, “‘If you protest, if you think that death is a terrible thing, then you have not understood a word I’ve said” (Vonnegut
The public were oblivious to the Dresden tragedy, which pushed Vonnegut to reveal the truth about what happened to open peoples’ eyes to the human capability of cruelty. Playing off of the idea of war and atrocity, a general idea shared between groups in this era was antiwar thinking. Protesters came together to voice their concerns, as Moss elaborates, “The antiwar protesters were dismissed as troublemakers at first, but in time their sentiments were echoed by many among the general population and within the nation’s leadership as well” (“Slaughterhouse” 347). The overall consensus throughout the nation was the hatred of war and the avoidance of it. Citizens did not want to contribute to violence, as is shown in the novel when Billy is speaking to a crowd of protesters and announces, “‘If you protest, if you think that death is a terrible thing, then you have not understood a word I’ve said” (Vonnegut