As we all know, the book ends with a bird telling Billy Pilgrim "Poo-tee-weet?" (215). I wondered what the significance of that simple phrase was. At first, I didn't think it had any meaning, but the more I read the book, the more I wondered how it fit in with all of the violence.
Poo-tee-weet seems so innocent, especially coming from some bird who can't even talk. The question mark at the end tells me that the bird is actually asking Billy a question, perhaps about war. That brings me back to the beginning of the book when the author told us "...there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre...Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds" (19).
The whole book was jumbled and didn't make much sense, which I see as a metaphor for war. Those who have experienced war have a hard time talking about it, probably because of how dark it was, so there isn't much one can say. Maybe the bird is a symbol for what those soldiers can say; not much. Or that it wouldn't matter, because no one can understand what it was like, much like the bird's phrase. What do you think Poo-tee-weet suggests? Is it just something to fill the void outside after the war is over, or is there a deeper meaning the author is trying to imply?
I love your comparison of the whole book to a war. Poo-tee-weet is such an innocent phrase that could have so many meanings. It could be the birds' way of asking, "Do you want to hear my story?". I'm sure that if birds could speak in human languages, they would want to tell us all that they have seen and heard. Birds are limited only by their own physical capabilities, and can therefore travel nearly anywhere they want to go. Perhaps the bird that talks to Billy at the end is the same one that talked to him in the hospital bed at the British camp, and has been following him everywhere. In any case, birds are everywhere, even during the war. They are inescapable. Poo-tee-weet could be a reminder of the birds' constant presence.
ReplyDeleteI never made the connection about it being the same bird at the British camp; I really like that perspective. It brings a new outlook to the story. You mention they are inescapable... maybe the bird is trying to warn Billy of something, or remind him that there's still hope? The bird follows him, staying with him, almost like a guardian angel.
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