The meaninglessness of the massive loss of human life is encapsulated in the phrase “
poo-tee-weet”
—and the unnecessary nature of war, in general, is what Vonnegut captures by closing his novel by the words.
What are Billy's final words?
Billy Budd's own last words, “
God bless Captain Vere!
“
What is the last line of Slaughterhouse 5?
One last word on the last word of the book: right in the first chapter, the narrator tells us that birds say “[a]ll there is to say
about a massacre, things like Poo-tee-weet?
” (1.15. 2). And the final phrase of Slaughterhouse-Five, following a depiction of the massacre at Dresden, is, of course, Poo-tee-weet?
Does Slaughterhouse-Five end on a happy note?
Slaughterhouse Five ends on a surprising note, with a bird tweeting “Poo-tee-weet?” to Billy Pilgrim.
The ending is certainly not a conventionally happy one
. The bird tweets a question that humans cannot understand.
What is ironic about the hobo's last words you think this is bad this Ain't Bad?
This ain't bad.” These
are in fact his last words, before he dies
. … His death is unsentimental, greeted by Billy with his usual refrain, “So it goes.” At this point his words, “this ain't bad,” take on an added irony, and an irony tinged with tragedy. Perhaps, after all, he was right.
What does po tee weet mean?
“Poo-tee-weet” effectively means
nothing
; to end the book with a meaningless statement, an answerless question, echoes our inability to account for the devastation of war.
What is the idea behind the bird saying poo tee weet?
The Bird Who Says “Poo-tee-weet?” The
jabbering bird symbolizes the lack of anything intelligent to say about war
. Birdsong rings out alone in the silence after a massacre, and “Poo-tee-weet?” seems about as appropriate a thing to say as any, since no words can really describe the horror of the Dresden firebombing.
What does Lazzaro say is the sweetest thing in life?
The sweetest thing in life, he claims,
is revenge
. He says that one time he fed a dog that had bitten him a steak filled with sharp pieces of metal and watched it die in torment. Lazzaro reminds Billy of Roland Weary's final wish and advises him not to answer the doorbell after the war.
What's the point of Slaughterhouse-Five?
Slaughterhouse-Five makes numerous cultural, historical, geographical, and philosophical allusions. It
tells of the bombing of Dresden in World War II
, and refers to the Battle of the Bulge, the Vietnam War, and the civil rights protests in American cities during the 1960s.
Where everything is beautiful and nothing hurt?
-Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut. Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.
What do humans look like to Tralfamadorians?
And Tralfamadorians don't see human beings as
two-legged creatures
, either. They see them as great millepedes—“with babies' legs at one end and old people's legs at the other,” says Billy Pilgrim.
Why is Slaughterhouse Five so short and jumbled and jangled?
It is so short and jumbled and jangled, Sam,
because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre
. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds.
What do Germans say when Billy asks why he chose him?
Once aboard, Billy asks the Tralfamadorians why they have chosen him, and their answer is that
they are all bugs trapped in the amber of the moment
. Billy is then anesthetized by the Tralfamadorians and regains consciousness back on the train crossing Germany during the war.
How is Dresden described in Chapter 6 and what is the significance of this description?
Informing the Americans that they will be leaving the prison camp that very afternoon for Dresden, the English officer describes Dresden as
an open city
: It is undefended and contains no war industries or troop concentrations. In Dresden, they need not worry about being bombed.
What literary devices are used in Slaughterhouse-Five?
- Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory. After the bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim and several POWs return to the slaughterhouse to pick up souvenirs. …
- Setting. …
- Narrator Point of View. …
- Genre. …
- Tone. …
- Writing Style. …
- What's Up With the Title? …
- What's Up With the Epigraph?
What does Billy Pilgrim symbolize?
The surname “Pilgrim” is reference of Billy's role in the novel. He is
the time-travelling pilgrim, seeking truth and peace
, like so many pilgrims who have come before him. It is a spiritual and intellectual journey he is on throughout the novel, coming to a sad truth of helplessness in the end.
