Cat's Cradle Review

Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, is a novel about earth’s demise, caused by the bad qualities of humans. The narrator, John, finds himself involved with the children of the famous creator of the atom bomb, Felix Hoenikker. He then finds out that Angela, Newt, and Frank Hoenikker all have a piece of ice-nine, an isotope of water created by their father that freezes at room temperature. The threeshare their ice-nine with various people in an attempt to achieve happiness through means of marriage, love, or power, even though they are aware that it has the capacity to destroy life on earth. As a result of their actions and the misuse of ice-nine, it ends up freezing all the oceans on earth and ending life as we know it. Cat’s Cradle has interesting, though unlikable, characters; an unorganized, predictable plot; and a style that can be both humorous and boring.

The array of characters in Cat’s Cradle is fascinating, although not likeable. Dr. Felix Hoenikker, for instance, has a combination of characteristics that make it hard for the reader to either like or hate him. Some of his attributes can be considered bad; for example, his wife has to spend all her time taking care of him because he is incapable of doing it himself. Once she dies, Dr. Hoenikker’s daughter, Angela, drops out of high school as a sophomore to take her place. He does not seem to have a sense of morals or of right and wrong, either. He simply seeks knowledge and truth. For example, upon the testing of the atom bomb, someone says to him that science has finally known sin. Dr. Hoenikker replies with the question, “What is sin?” He has no issue creating articles of destruction, such as the atom bomb, with the only reason being his curiosity and interest. He also inv...

... middle of paper ...

...wrong actions of the government and military. However, while reading through the novel, it is easy to miss the satires, and simply think they are strange circumstances in the novel.

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut has interesting characters that the reader does not sympathize with, a plot that is unexciting and predictable, and a style that can be humorous but boring. Dr. Hoenikker and Bokonon, for example, are characters that are hard to form opinions about, since they have both good and bad qualities. The plot has many coincidences, such as the main characters ending up together simply by chance, that make it predictable. The straight-forward style present in the novel can get boring, but can also be humorous. Overall, even though Cat’s Cradle can seem plotless and boring while reading, at the end, it is worth it and offers an interesting insight into human nature.