The English prisoners of the Germans are having a much
different POW (prisoner of war) experience than Billy is. They have commandeered
plentiful supplies through a paper error. Due to the wealth of food, clothes, and other
supplies, the British do not suffer from malnutrition or cold. In fact, they are able
to throw elaborate dinners like the one they had to welcome the American prisioners.
They even are able to put on a performance of musical
theatre.
The English experience stands in great contrast to
Billy's and his fellow soldiers. After an uneventful capture, they are marched through
the snow at gunpoint without proper footwear.
Vonnegut may
be, with this episode, pointing out the absurdity of war (and life). He includes
moments of great horror (like the firebombing of Dresden) along side the mundane and the
transcendent.
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