He was tried and shot. So it goes.

"Somewhere in there the poor old high school teacher, Edgar Derby, was caught with a teapot he had taken from the catacombs. He was arrested for plundering. He was tried and shot. So it goes" (274).

Throughout most of the novel, the narrator refers to the death of Edgar Derby. His death by firing squad is mentioned on several occasions, in fact, Vonnegut refers to Derby's death every time he is mentioned. The reader expects the description of the death, when it finally comes time for us to bear witness to it, will be detailed and lengthy because it seems to have effected the narrator as well as Billy so profoundly. In the first chapter, Vonnegut even mentions that he wished the death to be the climax in his original drafts and outlines of the novel. However, the actual event in the novel is much different than is to be expected. It comes on the second to last page and only occupies a total of 5 lines (including "So it goes" which occupies a line of its own). This ties in with the overall sense that this is the way things are, were, and always will be that Vonnegut seems to be portraying throughout the novel. Describing Derby's death in full will not change it, and reliving an unpleasant moment is, as one imagines the Tralfamadorians might put it, a foolish waste of time.

Why do you think Vonnegut mentioned Derby's death so many times throughout the novel, but then only dedicated 5 lines to describing the actual death?