Cats Cradle essays

Cat's Cradle essays The novel Cat's Cradle was published in 1963, the year of the Bay of Pigs invasion. It was the height of the Cold War, and most Americans lived in fear of a fiery nuclear apocalypse. However, the author presents an alternative apocalypse, one of the "great door of heaven being closed softly" (261). In this novel, Vonnegut presents a different but equally terrifying end - a world encased in frozen ice. One of the novel's themes is how human irresponsibility can contribute to this icy end. Though Vonnegut himself warned that much of the novel consists of strange plot twists and coincidences, the strength Cat's Cradle lies in its richly drawn characters. Throughout the novel, Vonnegut presented characters whose irresponsibility helped bring much of life on This novel examines how Vonnegut uses the main and minor characters in Cat's Cradle to reflect on the consequences of human irresponsibility. John, who calls himself "Jonah," acts as the novel's narrator. The reader is told of John's cynicism through other characters. His ex-wife, for example, paints him as "too pessimistic" (77). John is also content to believe in the concept of vin-dit. Because this Bokononist concept places God at the guiding helm of one's life, belief in vin-dit can also be read as a refusal to take responsibility for one's actions. Even when he recognizes the emptiness of Bokononism, John still decides to continue the religion's charade. By doing so, he indirectly contributes to the death of thousands of Bokononist followers towards the end of the novel, when many San Lorenzans commit suicide out of faith and despair. However, John is also effectively used as a foil to highlight the irresponsibility of the novel's other characters. For example, when Angela complains about her father being unfairly compensated for his work, John points out the selfishness of this statement in l...