Entry #9: Irony

"'We all know how the universe ends...'" A quote from a Tralfamadorian at the zoo where Billy Pilgrim is being displayed like a baboon.
At a Q&A session with Pilgrim, he goes on a tirade of how destructive Earth may seem in comparison with the loving and peace-keeping Tralfamadore, and describes the true horrors of war, and asks the aliens how he can save his race from destroying the universe. To this, the Tralfamadorians give Pilgrim their equivalent of a "Red Forman Look", meaning Pilgrim has said something stupid. After asking where he went wrong, the guide explains that it was/is/will be the fault of a test pilot experimenting with new fuels and pressing the start button that causes the universe to disappear. Oops.

So it goes..?



Right here we have a prime example of irony.  Irony is defined as a discrepancy between appearances and reality. To Billy Pilgrim, it appeared that Earth, in its heartlessness, cruelty, and hostility, would be the world to end all other worlds. In reality, Tralfamadore is the world to end the universe in all of its serenity, peacefullness, and benevolence.
That's irony on a universal level.