Cat's Cradle
The novel Cat's Cradle was published in 1963, the year of the Bay ofPigs invasion. It was the height of the Cold War, and most Americans livedin fear of a fiery nuclear apocalypse. However, the author presents analternative apocalypse, one of the "great door of heaven being closedsoftly" (261). In this novel, Vonnegut presents a different but equallyterrifying end - a world encased in frozen ice. One of the novel's themes is how human irresponsibility can contributeto this icy end. Though Vonnegut himself warned that much of the novelconsists of strange plot twists and coincidences, the strength Cat's Cradlelies in its richly drawn characters. Throughout the novel, Vonnegutpresented characters whose irresponsibility helped bring much of life on This novel examines how Vonnegut uses the main and minor characters inCat's Cradle to reflect on the consequences of human irresponsibility. John, who calls himself "Jonah," acts as the novel's narrator. Thereader is told of John's cynicism through other characters. His ex-wife,for example, paints him as "too pessimistic" (77). John is also content tobelieve in the concept of vin-dit. Because this Bokononist co
Felix Hoenikker looms as a giantpresence. The consequences of Hoenniker's irresponsibility can be seen inboth small and large scales. Breed is an optimist, a strong believer in the healing andsaving power of science. He further ignores the consequences of his actions when hecommits suicide by ingesting ice-nine, a process that sets the frozen endof the world in motion. The fact that he found neither cat norcradle in the tangle of strings presented by his father causes Newt tobelieve in the lack of meaning in all human life. They would thus rather relocate to theisland, to take advantage of cheaper labor. At the apocalypse, Newt remains unwilling toconfront the horrors of the icy apocalypse that he helped to usher. Instead, he focuses on scavenging for paint, and on turning inward andcoping through his art. Hoenikker is one of the fathers ofthe atomic bomb, which caused the death of hundreds of thousands of peoplein Hiroshima. In the end, they also contributed to the death of thousands oftheir followers, who committed mass suicide in the wake of the frozenapocalypse. Still, Newt remains focused on the majordisappointments of his childhood. "Moreover, Hoenikker is a scientist, one who is driven not by money ormaterial gain, but simply by his passion for discovery. In his hubris, Felix Hoenikker thinks he hassucceeded in taming water molecules. For example, when Angela complains about herfather being unfairly compensated for his work, John points out theselfishness of this statement in light of the poverty endured by mostpeople in San Lorenzo.
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Acceptance Essays
