Chapter 1: The Teapot

Vonnegut begins his novel by talking about how an American was arrested for stealing a teapot in Dresden. This was all after Dresden had been firebombed by the Allies. The city had been decimated and thousands of people died. Yet in all the horror, chaos, and death, an American soldier was arrested for stealing a teapot. One of Vonnegut's war buddies also says that the guy was given a "fair" trial, and then killed by a firing squad. Oh the irony...