Illusions, hopeless humans, and cocky America

As I came to the end of Cat's Cradle, author Kurt Vonnegut left me with several new concepts to think about. Throughout the book, Vonnegut has used his characters and storyline to comment on mankind and their plights in order to strive towards a more modern and perfect world. However, the perfection does not always prove more than a nice illusion. For example. when Jonah checks in to the Casa Mono, his room had air-conditioning and "there were fresh flowers" at his bedside table, yet his bed went unmade and the room had no other amenities in it (156). The "flowers" serve as a symbol for the nice, perfect exterior while beneath the false reality, something goes missing and it seems empty once the illusion melts away. Vonnegut displays this false reality yet again after the storm hit San Lorenzo and the survivors sit in the remains of Frank Hoenikker's house. They all act pleasant and carry on every day activities, yet Jonah notes that underneath the "cozy conversation" the "nagging SOS transmitter" reminded him of the reality of their situation (277). Through these examples, Vonnegut indirectly characterizes humans as weak creatures who always need to feel good about their situation, even if the end of the world goes on around them. This challenges humans, especially me, to look beyond the surface to see the deeper and more realistic world. This more realistic world, Vonnegut also suggests, only exists under a certain condition. Ambassador Minton realizes this as well as he gives his wreath dedication speech to a crowds of many different people. He recognizes that for a more realistic and prosperous world to exist, humans must make a concentrated and ceaseless effort to "reduce the stupidity and viciousness" of mankind (255). through his urgent tone, he indirectly characterizes mankind as ignorant and prone to repeating history. Yet although Ambassador Minton sees hope for humans, Bokonon foils him as "'nothing'" can a man hope for after taking past history into account (245). I tend to agree more with Minton as I see our past history as a learning and growing opportunity rather than a foreshadowing of our planets ultimate future. If humans can learn from the past and apply the knowledge gained from the experience to the future, then this world will prosper. However, if humans remain ignorant to the past and refuse to learn, the Bokonon will have made an accurate prediction of the fate of the human race. A final insight I gained from reading Cat's Cradle came from Claire Minton. Claire suggests that "'People are hated" and that "Americans…were foolish" in thinking that no one hated them, yet she received punishment for her brutally honest opinion (98). During this summer, the olympics often bring that feeling to every American home. American pride soars and with every gold medal, our country believes ten more that we stand as the greatest. If Claire Minton sat and watched the Olympics, she would cheer evenly for every victory and mourn every loss. Claire's words have shown me the ridiculousness in some Americans that they believe themselves better than the rest. Through Vonnegut's masterful novel, I have gained insights about not only myself but about human nature as well.

Warning: Not for the opinionated or outwardly optimistic

Optimist: a word defined by dictionary.com as a person disposed to take a favorable view of events or conditions. Optimist: a word defined by me as a person who should not read Cat's Cradle. Author and essayist, Kurt Vonnegut writes his dark humored satire, Cat's Cradle in order to entertain, question, and criticize. However, although entertaining, Vonnegut heavily criticizes and reveals the bleak nature of mankind. For example, when arriving at San Lorenzo, Jonah discovers that "everybody was bound to fail" (133). No one likes to hear that inevitably, their endeavors will fail, however there exist some people who have accepted that fact. This could prove too cynical for the optimistic mind who believe themselves able to do anything. Optimists also find themselves bothered by little Newt's impending question "'See the cat? See the cradle?'" (179) Newt daily takes the sacredness of life and marriage and compares it to a child's game, indirectly characterizing both of those things as meaningless and futile. The fact that the cat and the cradle never exist implies that marriage and even life prove man-made entities with no real purpose but to entertain and trick. The cynic as well as the thoughtful, open mind will enjoy this thoroughly, however it may disturb those who think happy thoughts or can not see past Little Newt playing with a piece of sting. Which leads to another group of people who should not read this book: the close-minded. At the beginning of the book, Jonah warns that people who can not understand his point of view will not understand the book, which proves very true throughout the second third. Jonah serves as the main example of an ope-minded person as he asks if the Hoenikker's have a "copy of The Books of Bokonon" (190). His eager tone and readiness to learn more about Bokonism despite his Christianity indirectly characterizes him as open-minded to things outside of his comfort zone. I know I had to take a step back in order to see the deeper meaning of the book as I tended to only see the literal meaning. Vonnegut writes in such a way that one must take on the attitude of Jonah himself, a pessimist and willing to learn, in order to truly understand and enjoy this book.

Just My Style

Author and essayist, Kurt Vonnegut writes his dark humored satire, Cat's Cradle in order to entertain, question, and criticize. However, I find his style of writing very helpful to all of the meaning of this book. Written shortly after American released the atomic bomb on Japan, Vonnegut sets his novel  through writer,  Jonah and his mission to write a book about Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the minds behind the atomic bomb. He proves able to keep the reader involved in the book through his use of short chapter that very often pose a statement about humanity. The short chapters allow the reader to stop and think of the implications and digest Vonnegut's various claims and assertions. Though the chapters divide, they also run together and read as one long chapter, making it easy to follow the story and understand it. Along with an interesting plot, Vonnegut discusses real world issues at the time having to do with the bomb. For instance when Jonah travels to a headstone shop, the owner discusses his nephew and how he worked as a scientist, yet when the bomb dropped, "'kid quit, and he got drunk'" (71). I found the frequent discussion of people's drastic reactions to the bomb intriguing as it kept me reading. Vonnegut's choice of narration, although not my favorite, proved interesting as well. At the beginning of the book when Jonah puts a disclaimer that no one "will…understand this book" if they can not grasp a beginning concept, excites in the reader a desire to continue and understand the concepts as it poses a challenge (6). in addition, Vonnegut included stereotypes in his work while evoking a sense of dark humor  to appeal to different kinds of readers. Throughout the first third, Jonah only addresses Newt Hoenikker as "Little Newt" (51). This directly characterizes Newt as "Little", shedding light on his midget status. While somewhat offensive, it also seems almost endearing that he refers to him as that. A sort of funny nickname that makes it seem as though he has known him for years. All of these characteristics combined makes the style of Vonnegut's book very easy and enjoyable to read.