Cat's Cradle

Cat’s Cradle is a story of the interweaving tendrils of fate, of the world and the people in the play of life, just as a cat’s cradle is the interweaving of strings—they both make purpose of something usually devoid of meaning. What meaning can an object have when it is untrue to its core; as Newt points out, a cat’s cradle has “no damn cat, and no damn cradle” (Vonnegut 166). This façade of image is a recurring idea in the book; applying to the fictional religion built on lies, the way of life on

religion in Cat’s Cradle to bring the protagonist out of his comfort zone. The doctrine of Bokononism, is that everything is a lie. This mysterious paradox, the concept that lies are a direct pathway to the truth, is Vonnegut’s way to dissuade readers from trying to understand God’s, and likely his, intentions. He does this by first insulting spiritual people. Bokonon, the named figure of his religion, says, “She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he knows what God is Doing” (Cat’s Cradle

In Cat's Cradle, the most prevalent theme in the novel was the use of religion. In the beginning, I thought it was strange that the first line of the religious text was confessing to being a lie since the narrator seems to adhere to it so closely. "The first sentence in The Books of Bokonon is this: "All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies" (Vonnegut 16). I felt that Vonnegut was making the point that ( especially once we reach the end of the novel) one of the purposes of

Samuel English Mr. Poetzinger Freshman Honors English 26, November 2014 The corruption of today’s society In the novel “Cat’s Cradle”, written by Kurt Vonnegut, religion is presented as more useful and less dangerous than science, despite its paradoxes and shortcomings. “Bokononism” is all lies, but it makes people happy. The whole idea of extended families to make you feel part of something, even though it’s based on meaningless things brings people comfort. On the other hand, truth and science

Religion is common around the world on every continent, in every country, in all kinds of different people. Despite their differences, they all provide something that the group of people needs. But is there some truth in what some may call lies? In Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, religion works for the people of San Lorenzo, giving them comfort in the worst of conditions. While religion may just be made up lies, it is more beneficial than science, which cannot give people what they need. Science only

Vonnegut uses religion to aid in exposing human’s need to believe in a higher power and how easy it is to corrupt those beliefs. Religion is evident in both Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five. In both novels, new religions are created in order to form a better reality for people who are living in unbearable situations. In Cat’s Cradle, the religion is called Bokononism and it is created by Lionel Boyd Johnson, who is renamed Bokonon. Mr. Johnson created this religion entirely based on lies with

Anyone who is lucky enough to have the opportunity to read the novel Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut will experience a great read. It was an astonishing novel, which is enjoyable from beginning to end and you feel like you are part of the plot. Cat’s Cradle starts out as a man’s journey to write a story over the atomic bomb, but a thing called ice-nine quickly changes the scenario. Kurt Vonnegut uses imagery, irony, and a summative phrase throughout the work to entice his reader to turn the page.

Vonnegut’s classic satire Cat’s Cradle revolves around a journalist named Jonah (as in “Jonah and the whale”), writing a book about the day the first atomic bomb was dropped. In trying to interview the three children of the bomb’s inventor, Felix Hoenikker, he is led to the impoverished island of San Lorenzo. It is here that Jonah becomes aware of the outlawed religion Bokononism. Religion (Christianity and Bokononism) proves to be a central element of Cat’s Cradle. Vonnegut is highly critical of

Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle I believe that Vonnegut uses Cat's Cradle as an allegorical tale about what will happen to the world if we are not careful with technology that has the ability to end life on this planet. He points out one of the qualities of humanity; that people make mistakes, thus poisoning our minds and encouraging a better world. One of the obvious ways that Vonnegut uses this book to "encourage a better world" would be by showing that the end of world may come from an accidental

Any useful religion can be based on lies. Religion is an establishment that provides communal ties, morality, and hope, even if it lacks truth. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut conveys this message through the lies of Bokonon. Bokonon provides teaching and hope to those in the underdeveloped country of San Lorenzo. He also provides the narrator with a sense of understanding about the world around him. The narrator, John, recognizes the impact and power the lies of Bokonon had on the citizens of San