Poo-tee-weet
Towards the end of chapter one, Vonnegut displays onomatopoeia, the use of words whose sounds echo their meaning.
While teaching at the University of Iowa, Vonnegut received a three-book contract from a man by the name of Seymour Lawrence. Vonnegut informed Sam, the name by which his friends call him, that the first of his three books will be his book about Dresden (Slaughterhouse Five). Vonnegut explains in the first chapter that the shortness of the book is due to the fact that there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. He continues on saying, "Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like "Poo-tee-weet?""
By using poo-tee-weet, Vonnegut is symbolizing the lack of anything intelligent to say about a massacre and war. After a massacre, the birds alone chirp breaking the silence. Poo-tee-weet is appropriate and fitting for the time after a massacre, because no words can describe the pain, tears, and loss of life.
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