Slaughterhouse-Five : Metaphor

"Through the valley flowed a Mississippi of humiliated Americans." (pg. 64)

This excerpt provides an example of a metaphor. The Mississippi is an American river, and the American soldiers are being marched in a line, flowing downhill as a river would. This is also an example of dramatic irony. The American soldiers are marching against their will like a river in their home country. They are on their way to different war prisons where they will undergo certain hardships. These hardships include things such as a lack of sufficient food and a lack of clothing that fits. Billy is stuck with a jacket that is far too small. The Germans did this in order to jeer and poke fun at him. They do not care what becomes of the American soldiers.