Dignity

“On an average, 324,000 new babies are born into the world every day. During that same day, 10,000 persons, on average, will have starved to death or died from malnutrition. So it goes. In addition, 123,000 persons will die for other reasons.So it goes. This leaves a net gain of about 191,000 each day in the world. The Population Reference Bureau predicts that the world's total population will double 7,000,000,000 before the year 2000.'I suppose they will all want dignity,' I said.
'I suppose,' said O'Hare.”
Pg. 488

In this passage O'Hare and Vonnegut are traveling back to Dresden and discover these statistics when looking up the population of Dresden. Vonnegut is showing that everyday people want dignity and this is a problem recurring throughout the book. Dignity is a come at a high price to death and Billy cannot find this kind of dignity on his home planet until he accepts the Tramalfadorian idea that death and life can coexist. As Billy accepts this idea, his actions show how futile free will is. If Billy had trained like the other soldiers he still might die. Even with human effort many die as Billy, a joke, survives showing human effort at a dignified death is an illusion, another reason not everyone can choose their death. Vonnegut asks if there will be enough dignity to go around the growing population, but leaves this answer for the reader to decide.

Vonnegut does not follow the traditional story pattern and with this lack of climax shows war has made the climax impertinent. Earlier in the novel, Vonnegut tells O'Hare that the execution of Edgar Derby should be the climax, but his death is stated as a simple, almost overlooked fact: “He was arrested for plundering. He was tried and shot. So it goes.” Derby's reason for being executed seems ironic when contrasted with the bodies they are about to dig up. With the repetition of the phrase “So it goes.” Vonnegut seems to imply that there is no dignity or justice in death by keeping a tally of the dead. This shows that death is inevitable for everyone, even the growing population, so it is unreasonable for every single person to die with dignity.

Is there always dignity in death? Does everyone desire this dignity for their death? By accepting Tramalfadorian ideals can there be more dignity in death?