Cat's Cradle Analysis

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Recommended: Freudian psychology of religion

After reading and analyzing the novel Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, I have come to the conclusion that the religion the book is based upon, Bokononism, fits into Sigmund Freud's criteria of religion. To start off, Freud has a theory that religious practices and beliefs are all made up by human beings based on their desire to ease anxieties. The practices and beliefs of a religion are comparable to childhood neurosis. Childhood neurosis is the occurrence of a broad range of neurotic conditions such as fears, anxieties, compulsions, etc. Religious beliefs are similar to childhood neurosis because like other neuroses, they are semi-conscious creations designed to alleviate anxiety, they try to re-capture childhood feelings and securities for us. Even though these neuroses work, they come with a cost.
As children we start off with believing that the world is good and our parents are perfect. As we grow we realize that our parents can and will make mistakes and everything is not as good as it seems. According to Freud we then need something to compensate for the anxieties of o...

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