In current society, critical thinking can be sparse. It is unusual that people question the traditions they have grown up with. Although this ignorance can be safe and simple, its outcome is ultimately problematic. In the satire Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut proves that undiscerning belief in anything will inevitably end in tragedy. Vonnegut demonstrates this using sensitive topics such as Science and Religion. In the present day, society depends on Science greatly; it supplies jobs, provides technology capable of saving lives, and furthers our society in many positive ways. However, society often misses the negative aspects of Science. Vonnegut identifies many problems with the general perspective on Science in Cat's Cradle, issues that are still relevant today. In this novel, John, the protagonist, sets out to write a book called “the Day the World Ended” about the important people involved in the first Atomic Bomb. He goes on to study the character Felix Hoenikker, who is based on the real Father of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer. Soon John becomes involved with the chaotic Hoenikker family and all of their personal issues. After a minimal amount of research, John realizes that Felix Hoenikker’s dominating trait was his profound naivety. According to the youngest child in the Hoenikker family, Newt, his father saw himself as an “eight year old on a spring morning on his way to school” (Vonnegut 11). Felix often boasts about this characteristic, but while it can be an advantage to have the curiosity of a child, it does not mean it is appropriate to have the same level of maturity of one. After his wife dies, Felix forces his daughter Angela to drop out of school so he has someone to take care of him. As well, he... ... middle of paper ... ...actices such as Religion. Science and Religion are sometimes seen as indisputable authorities, but in order to preserve peace and morality the general public must learn to challenge them. Although there are moments of debate over these controversial topics, often people do not spend enough time to becoming aware of the world around them. Vonnegut uses this satire to establish the threats of blind faith. Many of the tragic events in Cat's Cradle would have never occurred if the characters had thought critically in such difficult situations. It is important that people teach themselves about world issues because sources such as Science and Religion can be bias. Cat’s Cradle is a call to the public to question authority and never take anything on blind faith. Works Cited Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. New York, N.Y. Delta Trade Paperbacks, 19981963. Print.
Kurt Vonnegut writes pessimistic novels, or at least he did back in the sixties. Between Slaughterhouse Five, Mother Night, and Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut paints a cynical and satirical picture of the degradation of society using distortion as the primary means to express himself. In Cat's Cradle, the reader is confronted with the story of the narrator, John, as he attempts to gather material to write a book on the human aspect of the day Japan was bombed. As the story progresses, he finds that becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from illusion. He meets up with a midget, a dictator, and a nation's object of lust as his journey progresses, and he eventually ends up the sole leader of a remote island and witnesses the end of the world. Using implausible stories and unbelievable characters and situations to convey his message, Vonnegut's utilization of literary distortion allows him to move the reader and prove his point in a far greater way than he could by just blatantly shouting his opinions. "Anyone unable to understand how useful a religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either"(16), states the narrator, concerning Cat's Cradle. Throughout the text, Vonnegut uses the religion of Bokononism, which is a fictitious faith founded on the basis of deception, to establish that people can prosper and be happy under false beliefs. When two men founded the island nation of San Lorenzo, Cat's Cradle's model for society, it was...
Kurt Vonnegut, critically acclaimed author of several best-selling novels, uses self-expression and psychological manipulation to stress to the reader his beliefs and ideas dispersed within the context of Cat's Cradle. From reading this novel, one might attribute perplexity pondering over the plot and general story line of the book. Cat's Cradle entangles itself in many interesting changes of events; strange outlandish ideas and psychological "black holes" can be found with just the flip of a page.
Kurt Vonnegut’s war experiences had a great impact on his life, which greatly contributes to the readers understanding of the "Barnhouse Effect." His war experiences are reflected quite vividly through his writing of the "Barnhouse Effect." This short story reflects "the human horrors during war, and the de-humanization of modern men and women, and the loss of humane values in a society dedicated to technological progress." (Modern Stories, p. 408)
Maranata Weekly Intro to Ethnic Studies Mr. Lee October 22, 2015 Night Essay In the book Night, written by Elie Wiesel, is an autobiography written to represent a loss of faith from the very beginning to the end as a Jew in a concentration camp. Elie starts the story from when he was a child who was an Orthodox Jew. He would be so infatuated with his religion that when he prayed, he would start to cry. He goes on to explain, “I wept because.because of something inside me that felt the need to cry.
11 million people were killed during the Holocaust, 6 million of which were Jews. Night is Elie Wiesel’s autobiography that takes place during the Holocaust. In his book, Elie quickly loses faith in every aspect of his life during his harsh journey. He begins to lose all faith in himself, in mankind, and in God.
Wood, Karen and Charles. “The Vonnegut Effect: Science Fiction and Beyond.” The Vonnegut Statement. Vol. 5. 1937. 133-57. The GaleGroup. Web. 10 March. 2014.
Through the portrayal of Felix Hoenniker, Vonnegut satirizes that innocence does not necessarily equal harmlessness. In chapter 7, Newton Hoenniker writes about his father to Jonah, “After the thing went off, after it was a sure thing that America could wipe out a city with just one bomb, a scientist turned to Father and said, ‘Science has now known sin.’ And do you know what Father said? He said, ‘What is sin?’ (13). Felix’s ignorance toward the moral responsibility that accompanied his nuclear weapons research become blatant. Furthermore, Felix’s lack of judiciousness emblematizes his shallowness. Integrating such a concept promptly fills Vonnegut’s intentions of illustrating the destructive nature of innocence. The author elicits that impeccability found in Felix Hoenniker can be deleterious. In order to understand how these circumstances lead to a worldwide disaster by the end of Cat’s Cradle, it is of paramount importance that one conceives Felix as the epitome of a scientist who researches for knowledge with little or no concern for the application of that knowledge. In chapter 33, ...
One minute Elie Wiesel was sitting at home enjoying time with his family then, all of as sudden, he was forced out of his own home and on his was to a death camp with tons of other people just like him. What was he going to do in order to survive? How would he overcome the physical and mental challenges that this horrible death camp will bring? In the beginning of the novel, Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie turned to studying the Kabbalah and studying his God. Throughout the novel, we see parts where Elie’s faith begins to slip and he questions why, why is God doing this to him and others in the Auschwitz camp. The author wants his readers to see the changes the camp on his religious beliefs. In Night, Elie Wiesel uses tone, diction, and repetition to illustrate the loss of faith in Elie.
Everyone deals with the loss of faith, at least once in their life. Whether a person loses a family member or is just having a strenuous time in life. Anyone can lose faith. In the book Night, by Elie Wiesel, there are many examples that show a loss of faith. Throughout the story, Elie struggles with his faith a lot. Even from the first day he got to the concentration camp, he noticed a change in himself and knew that he was losing his faith already. In Night, Elie Wiesel uses repetition, diction, and tone to illustrate how his time in the concentration camps had an effect on his faith.
Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols, and plot. However, a close examination reveals that both contain common themes and ideas. Examining and comparing the two novels and their presentation of different themes provides a unique insight into both the novels and the author – allowing the reader to gain a fuller understanding of Vonnegut’s true meaning.
I believe that Vonnegut uses Cat's Cradle as an allegorical tale about what will happen to the world if we are not careful with technology that has the ability to end life on this planet. He points out one of the qualities of humanity; that people make mistakes, thus poisoning our minds and encouraging a better world.
Everyone has heard the expression "curiosity killed the cat." That is to say, the search for new wisdom can often have unpleasant consequences; a child curious about the kitchen stove is bound to get burned. This is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates in Cat's Cradle with the example of ice-nine, which is developed by the fictional creator of the atom bomb, Felix Hoenikker. It is symbolic of the atom bomb in that it has the power to end human life. Hoenikker is obviously an exceedingly smart man; however, it can be inferred from his inventions that he does not always consider the negative consequences of his new discoveries. He is merely on a quest for further knowledge, not a quest to better our society. The game of cat's cradle, which Hoenikker was playing on the day of Hiroshima, can be understood to represent both the naîve, infantile nature of Hoenikker as well as the great destruction caused by his invention. Vonnegut counters the scientific aspects of the novel with the bizarre religion of Bokononism. Overall, Cat's Cradle is used by Vonnegut to point out the flaws in modern society. Through the analogous ice-nine, Vonnegut shows that humankind's search for knowledge is prone to end up in destruction.
Eliezer Wiesel loses his faith in god, family and humanity through the experiences he has from the Nazi concentration camp.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a satire on the state of world affairs in the 1960's. Vonnegut made a commentary in this book on the tendency of humans to be warlike, belligerent, and shortsighted. The main character of the book, the narrator, is certainly not a protagonist, although the modern reader craves a hero in every story and the narrator in this one is the most likely candidate. Through the narrator's eyes, Vonnegut created a story of black humor ending in the destruction of the earth.
I think one thing that Vonnegut is trying to show us is that man too easily accepts things as valid without questioning. Refering to this, Newt, another character, says, "No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's…No damn cat, and no damn cradle" (114).