Chapter Eight: Dresden is Incinerated

The Dresden firebombing that Vonnegut has mentioned throughout the book finally occurred in chapter eight. Although Vonnegut could never truly explain the horrifying destruction that happened, he does a good job by using vivid, macabre imagery. For example:

"He told her about the stockyards with all fenceposts gone, with roofs and windows gone-told her about seeing little logs lying around. There were people who had been caught in the firestorm. So it goes."

Vonnegut said he could never tell a cohesive story about Dresden. Maybe that's why he uses such strong imagery in order for the reader to visualize what Dresden was like on the night of February 13, 1945.