Laughter is the best medicine. In Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut it is necessary to acknowledge the humor found within the novel. It’s ironic how a story about such horrific events can be intended to make one laugh. Vonnegut’s tone is very light throughout the novel. The whole novel is a tale of caution and mockery. In the novel, Vonnegut mocks science and how it doesn’t lead to utopia. Papa (the leader in San Lorenzo) suffers from a mysterious ailment and right before passing out he says "'You,' he said to Frank hoarsely, 'you - Franklin Hoenikker - you will be the next President of San Lorenzo. Science - you have science. Science is the strongest thing there is.' 'Science' said 'Papa' 'Ice'" (Vonnegut 146). He agrees to make Frank the president of on the interest of San Lorenzo. Papa didn’t know how long he had prior to his death. Frank was not a leader but he was in the possession of ice-nine. In the novel, Ice-nine is a new weapon that can impair the whole nation at once. Papa sees Ice-nine as how science betters society through modern concept. As we later find out Ice-nine eliminate the world as a whole. Vonnegut also mocks religion through “Bokononism”, it misinterprets the efficiency of the truth. Bokononism is a religion that has no truth …show more content…
In the novel the secret of life means nothing it has no meaning at any aspect. “’How can anybody in his right mind be against science?’ asked Crosby.’ I’d be dead now if it wasn’t for Penicillin,’ said Hazel. ‘And so would my mother.’‘How old is your mother?’ I inquired. ‘A hundred and six. Isn’t that wonderful?’ (Vonnegut 231). Vonnegut’s humor always flavored with a punch line. This quotes proves that science is not always in the best interest of an individual. The life of an individual is prolonged doesn’t mean they are in a better shape then anyone else. Vonnegut mocks how “Wonderful” science transmits all of these
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).
New medications are discovered daily. However, had Mary Shelly's proposition of "playing god" been a reality in the late 18th century, and had Victor Frankenstein been able to take this dramatic shortcut in the slow process of evolution by creating life from death, the crisis between the church and science would have been decidedly against science. Such were the sentiments of Victor's headmaster at Ingolstadt, as well as the rest of the European scientific community. Frankenstein's intentions were good. He had wanted to rid the world of genetic defects and bacterial disease by creating the perfect man. He would do so by applying electricity to the polar regions of a body, which he had constructed from pieces of freshly executed villains, while submerging them in an elemental pool of life. However, he was so driven towards his goal that he never considered the consequences of his actions. He was in many ways acting like the benefactor of Jurassic Park, hastily creating a life form without consideration of possible detriments. When Frankenstein had created his monster, he didn't know what to do with it and immediately wished it dead, but ironically he had made it so strong that it would not die.
Meaning is often heavily influenced by the perspective at hand – a fact which Vonnegut is clearly very aware of for Cat’s
In the novel “Cat’s Cradle” Kurt Vonnegut did a great job when it came to using literary techniques. So could you image a novel or a story of any kind that had a poor use of literary devices? Because it would most likely be uninteresting or just would not make much sense to the reader. If you read the novel “Cat’s Cradle” before then it probably was neither one of these things to you, in fact it would probably be the complete opposite of those two things. If you have ever read a book before then chances are that it had some form of literary devices somewhere throughout it. Kurt Vonnegut’s use of character throughout his novel “Cat’s Cradle” is the subject for this paper, and by the use of character I mean what did the author do with the characters
“The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal” (Vonnegut 133). This story is called “Harrison Bergeron” and is written by Kurt Vonnegut, and includes satire of many real societies that will supposedly influence the United States. This previous quote describes that the United States was finally perfect, but it could be argued as a communistic society. It is later stated that: “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution” (Vonnegut 133). This explains how the Unites States has transferred to a society related to communism. This is an example of satire that is used to mock communism. A second inference that can be made about this “utopian” society is also mocks the person’s need for nobody to have
The ability of some to guide the actions and thought processes of other individuals are not something that solely exists within Cat’s Cradle. Instead, there have been numerous times in which the powerful
“There was one where he bet I couldn’t tell him anything that was absolutely true. So I told him,‘God is love.’ ”“And what did he say?”“He said, ‘What is God? What is love?’ ” -Kurt Vonnegut Cat’s Cradle pg. 55 Chapter: What’s God. There’s a lot of debate and speculation on whether religions are real, and if they are, which one. Even the people that believe in a certain religion often struggle with this ideal. However, there are people who strongly believe that they understand and know all of God’s doings.
Vonnegut’s purpose for writing Cat’s Cradle is to create an apt analogy for the world and the human condition. In this analogy, San Lorenzo represents the world, a place where the poor masses’ only escape from their misery is religion.
must use a simple style to do s o; his point of view is so
Irony is when you expect one thing, but receive another. In this story irony is the main topic. With everything being perfect in a utopia no war, disease, or ageing, but still there’s something wrong. Or how the mural depicting the beautiful garden has weeds that never go away. In these examples Kurt Vonnegut shows how nothing can be perfect even in a utopian society.
But Vonnegut believes this quest for truth is actually a hoax, as scientists instead use their knowledge for the purpose of advancing their precious religion alone. Dr. Hoenikker sums up this blind following of science when he asks Miss Faust, a 'non-believer' of science, what 'God' and 'Love' are. Vonnegut mocks humanity's dependence on fact and 'truth' by making his scientists mindless zombies, unable to see a bigger picture in the universe other than their facts and figures. These statistics many times blind scientists into believing that their work is 'beneficial to humanity'. But although they may be armed with this 'new knowledge', scientists seem to lose humanity in the process of 'learning the truth'. Marvin Breed tries to explain this phenomenon, when he wonders whether scientists were indeed born "stone-cold dead" (53), their souls devoid
But science doesn’t always lead to good truths such as finding cures to disease. In Cat’s Cradle Vonnegut perceives science as way to discover truth, but an uncut truth that could harm humanity. An example of this is seen in the book with Felix Hoenikker’s invention of ice-nine. Felix Hoenikker, one of the “fathers” of the atomic bomb, also created a substance called “ice-nine” to freeze mud for soldiers to travel more efficiently. This invention could have been a revolutionizing invention of war, but Hoenikker understood the destruction this substance could inflict on the world. Thus he created a truth that could put humanity at risk. From Hoenikker’s scientific experiments, science could bring problems unto humanity, instead of preventing them. Because of the realization Felix Hoenikker had about the danger of his substance ice-nine, he elected not to provide it to the company that had asked for it. Before his death, he left remains of ice-nine for each of his three children, not thinking of the consequences of this decision. The decision ultimately led to mishandling of the dangerous substance, and the truth that he created from his scientific discovery, led to the death of his children, along with almost every person in the
A major theme of Cat’s Cradle is religion. At the start of the book, Vonnegut expresses a viewpoint that a lot people disagree with; that religion is a lie. The book states that religion is a made up
Kurt Vonnegut uses a combination of dark humor and irony in Slaughterhouse-Five. As a result, the novel enables the reader to realize the horrors of war while simultaneously laughing at some of the absurd situations it can generate. Mostly, Vonnegut wants the reader to recognize the fact that one has to accept things as they happen because no one can change the inevitable.
In “A Modest Proposal” several forms of satire are demonstrated throughout the story. Satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices. (Google) In "A Modest Proposal" Swift uses parody which is a form of satire. Parody is primarily making fun of something to create a humorous feel for it. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses parody to make fun of the people and children of Ireland, expressing the children as delicious food to be eaten.