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Greed in literature essay
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Everyone has heard the expression "curiosity killed the cat." That is to say, the search for new wisdom can often have unpleasant consequences; a child curious about the kitchen stove is bound to get burned. This is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates in Cat's Cradle with the example of ice-nine, which is developed by the fictional creator of the atom bomb, Felix Hoenikker. It is symbolic of the atom bomb in that it has the power to end human life. Hoenikker is obviously an exceedingly smart man; however, it can be inferred from his inventions that he does not always consider the negative consequences of his new discoveries. He is merely on a quest for further knowledge, not a quest to better our society. The game of cat's cradle, which Hoenikker was playing on the day of Hiroshima, can be understood to represent both the naîve, infantile nature of Hoenikker as well as the great destruction caused by his invention. Vonnegut counters the scientific aspects of the novel with the bizarre religion of Bokononism. Overall, Cat's Cradle is used by Vonnegut to point out the flaws in modern society. Through the analogous ice-nine, Vonnegut shows that humankind's search for knowledge is prone to end up in destruction. This fictional substance, coincidentally, has many similar characteristics as the atom bomb. Chiefly, they are both symbols of the destructive power of human technology run amok (Peacock vol.44 210). They also highlight humans' flaws, showing that we are too careless to be responsible for anything as dangerous as ice-nine or the atom bomb. Vonnegut exaggerates this carelessness by giving immediate ownership of ice-nine to the three obviously irresponsible children of Dr. Hoenikker (Student Resource Center 1). Ultimately,... ... middle of paper ... ...nnegut." Authors & Artists for Young Adults. Ed. Scot Peacock. 64 vols. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. "Kurt Vonnegut." Authors & Artists for Young Adults. Ed. Scot Peacock. 64 vols. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2002. Meades, Jonathan. "Kurt Vonnegut, Fantasist." Books and Bookmen. Feb. 1973: 34-37. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jean C. Stine. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 455. Reed, Peter J. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Warner Paperback Library, 1972. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jean C. Stine. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 497. Schatt, Stanley. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1976. "Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Expresses Alienation, 1963" DISCovering U.S. History. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 04 January 2006. Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1963.
Steve Sheinkin, award-winning author, in his novel Bomb: The Race to Build- and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (2012) addresses the topic of nuclear war and proves that no matter what actions are taken (during war) there will be negative outcomes by depicting the characters with anxiety, describing horror-filled battle scenes and revealing the thirst for power during these times. Sheinkin supports his claim by using memorable moments in the novel such as when the bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and the entire city is close to being wiped out; also when Stalin is upset that the Americans completed the atomic bomb which leads to another race of building upwards
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
"In Slaughterhouse Five, -- Or the Children's Crusade, Vonnegut delivers a complete treatise on the World War II bombing of Dresden. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is a very young infantry scout* who is captured in the Battle of the Bulge and quartered in a Dresden slaughterhouse where he and other prisoners are employed in the production of a vitamin supplement for pregnant women. During the February 13, 1945, firebombing by Allied aircraft, the prisoners take shelter in an underground meat locker. When they emerge, the city has been levelled and they are forced to dig corpses out of the rubble. The story of Billy Pilgrim is the story of Kurt Vonnegut who was captured and survived the firestorm in which 135,000 German civilians perished, more than the number of deaths in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Robert Scholes sums up the theme of Slaughterhouse Five in the New York Times Book Review, writing: 'Be kind. Don't hurt. Death is coming for all of us anyway, and it is better to be Lot's wife looking back through salty eyes than the Deity that destroyed those cities of the plain in order to save them.' The reviewer concludes that 'Slaughterhouse Five is an extraordinary success. It is a book we need to read, and to reread.' "The popularity of Slaughterhouse Five is due, in part, to its timeliness; it deals with many issues that were vital to the late sixties: war, ecology, overpopulation, and consumerism. Klinkowitz, writing in Literary Subversions.New American Fiction and the Practice of Criticism, sees larger reasons for the book's success: 'Kurt Vonnegut's fiction of the 1960s is the popular artifact which may be the fairest example of American cultural change. . . . Shunned as distastefully low-brow . . . and insufficiently commercial to suit the exploitative tastes of high-power publishers, Vonnegut's fiction limped along for years on the genuinely democratic basis of family magazine and pulp paperback circulation. Then in the late 1960s, as the culture as a whole exploded, Vonnegut was able to write and publish a novel, Slaughterhouse Five, which so perfectly caught America's transformative mood that its story and structure became best-selling metaphors for the new age. '"Writing in Critique, Wayne D. McGinnis comments that in Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut 'avoids framing his story in linear narration, choosing a circular structure.
Kurt Vonnegut said in The Vonnegut Statement (1973), in an interview with Robert Scholes, that one of his reasons for writing is "to poison minds with humanity…to encourage them to make a better world" (107). This idea works quite well in Vonnegut's book, Cat's Cradle. It is a satirical story of a man's quest to write a book about the day the world ended (refering to the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima), which he never finishes. What we get is a raw look at humans trying desperately to find a sense of purpose in their lives through different means such as religion, science, etc.
Vonnegut's writing style throughout the novel is very flip, light, and sarcastic. The narrator's observations and the events occurring during the novel reflect a dark view of humanity which can only be mocked by humor. At the beginning of the novel the narrator is researching for a book he is writing. The book was to be about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the lives of the people who created the bomb. The narrator travels through the plot of the story, with characters flying in and out, in almost a daze. He is involved in events which are helplessly beyond his control, but which are inevitably leading to a destination at the end.
Kurt Vonnegut’s fictional novel “Cat’s Cradle”, indirectly explores issues that parallels into topics such as religion, scientific/technological advancements, political power and much more. Vonnegut’s novel is narrated by a character named Jonah (John). He, Jonah, sets out to write an anthropological book based off of what key people were doing on the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Throughout Vonnegut’s novel it can clearly represents how a writer can become a very destructive person to society. As for this novel, it shows through the uses of parallels that a writer can become a very destructive person to society, these parallels are reflects to real world issues throughout his novel to show this claim, that a writer too can be a destructive person to society.
Through the portrayal of Felix Hoenniker, Vonnegut satirizes that innocence does not necessarily equal harmlessness. In chapter 7, Newton Hoenniker writes about his father to Jonah, “After the thing went off, after it was a sure thing that America could wipe out a city with just one bomb, a scientist turned to Father and said, ‘Science has now known sin.’ And do you know what Father said? He said, ‘What is sin?’ (13). Felix’s ignorance toward the moral responsibility that accompanied his nuclear weapons research become blatant. Furthermore, Felix’s lack of judiciousness emblematizes his shallowness. Integrating such a concept promptly fills Vonnegut’s intentions of illustrating the destructive nature of innocence. The author elicits that impeccability found in Felix Hoenniker can be deleterious. In order to understand how these circumstances lead to a worldwide disaster by the end of Cat’s Cradle, it is of paramount importance that one conceives Felix as the epitome of a scientist who researches for knowledge with little or no concern for the application of that knowledge. In chapter 33, ...
Cat's Cradle is, "Vonnegut's most highly praised novel. Filled with humor and unforgettable characters, this apocalyptic story tells of Earth's ultimate end, and presents a vision of the future that is both darkly fantastic and funny, as Vonnegut weaves a satirical commentary on modern man and his madness" (Barnes and Noble n.pag). In Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut uses satire as a vehicle for threatened self-destruction when he designs the government of San Lorenzo. In addition, the Bokonists practice of Boko-maru, and if the world is going to end in total self destruction and ruin, then people will die, no matter how good people are and what religion people believe.
Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war science fiction novel entitled, Slaughter House Five otherwise known as “The Children’s Crusade” or “A Duty Dance with Death,” is a classic example of Vonnegut’s eccentric and moving writing capabilities.Originally published in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five pays tribute to Vonnegut’s experiences in World War Two, as an advanced scout in the 106th infantry division, a prisoner of war and witness to the firebombing of Dresden on February 13th, 1945 in which 135,000 people were killed, making it the greatest man-caused massacre of all times.This novel illustrates the cruelties and violence of war along with the potential for compassion in human nature and all that it encompasses.
“The idea that philosophy and science can be combined to give us the best possible knowledge about the world and how to act within it is an old one, encapsulated by the classic concept of scientia, a Latin word that means knowledge” (Pigliucci 6). In the book Cat’s Cradle the main topic of debate is clearly science versus religion. In many ways, these two topics are very different, but in others, they are quite similar. Both science and religion have a common goal, to find truth in the world. The main character of Cat’s Cradle is a man named John. At the beginning of the book, John is a Christian who is doing research on Felix Hoenikker, the maker of the atomic bomb. His attempt to learn about the science behind the bomb leads him to a religion called Bokononism. In this book, Bokononism is not like other religions. It is more of a mindset that attempts to explain the world and why unexplainable things happen. John’s gradual transition from Christianity, a religion that focuses on getting into heaven, to Bokononism, a mindset that strives to explain the world and gain knowledge about it, is a perfect example of how religion or science by itself does not supply knowledge. Scientists and religions experts try to explain the world through different ways. Scientists try to explain life with true facts, and religious people believe that a supernatural force who assigns purpose to everyones lives. Even though they are different, both groups try to explain the world and give purpose to their lives.
In Vonnegut’s science fiction and dystopian novel Cat’s Cradle, the main character, John, demonstrates his personal growth and from that, his enlightened attitude towards the unnecessary horrors that war creates. In the beginning of the novel, John sets out to discover and gather information on what people’s lives were like the day that the atomic bomb dropped. Along his path of discovery, he meets the Hoenikker family, of which Felix was the patriarch and the creator of the elusive, dangerous material ice-nine. John then gets sidetracked of his initial quest and becomes infatuated on his pursuit for more knowledge about ice-nine. From there, he stumbles across more of the Hoenikker children as well as the Bokonon people and their peculiar faith. Once John is on the island he learns of the disastrous potential that ice-nine has, and by the end of the novel, witnesses it’s power as it kills virtually the entire human race. At the very end of the novel, John recognizes what his quest for ultimate truth led him to (destruction of humanity) and furthermore sees the cruel, blind and horrible nature of war (ice-nine/weapons of mass destruction). Vonnegut’s next book, Slaughterhouse-Five, another science-fiction novel that was written just a few years after details the life of Billy Pilgrim, a goofy, awkward, and incompetent guy whose life never seems to turn out the way he anticipates. When Billy was a young man, against his wish, he was drafted to fight against the Germans in World War II. As most men do in war, Billy experiences horrific sights on and off the battlefield. As a result he greatly traumatized for the rest of his life because of it. Then, in h...
Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols, and plot. However, a close examination reveals that both contain common themes and ideas. Examining and comparing the two novels and their presentation of different themes provides a unique insight into both the novels and the author – allowing the reader to gain a fuller understanding of Vonnegut’s true meaning.
Kurt Vonnegut is an author that isn’t afraid to question and critique major establishments. Vonnegut question those intentions of religion, whether they are in reality working in good faith or in dehumanizing people and taking away from their ability to grow and have their own opinions. In his works, Vonnegut doesn’t steer clear from examining the pointlessness of warfare, the ability to escape your current reality, religion and the immoral aspects of science. Vonnegut’s short story Harrison Bergeron and his novels, Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle were all works that were inspired and reflected off events in his life. The decline of his mental health, his wife turning to Christianity, the growing political and
The nlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnln I believe that he was pointing out that the super powers of the world who have end of the world technology keep it very well guarded against theft or accident. However, ice-nine was also in the possession of Papa. All it takes is one suicide bomb and one accident by the San Lorenzo airforce to release ice-nine into the world, resulting in the end of the planet. Vonnegut seems to be demonstrating that although nuclear weapons are well cared for by the super powers, the technology is available to people who may not be so careful with it.... ...
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Herman Melville's Moby Dick, two separate and radically different compositions that both explore the self-destructive potential of humanity. Moby Dick, set in the New England region of North America during the mid to late 1800s, tells the story of Captain Ahab's quest on the whaling ship, The Pequod, to slay the white whale that crippled him on his last voyage. Throughout their trek the crew are faced with many warnings to turn back, ultimately Ahab must make the decision between saving multiple lives, and exacting his revenge. Ishamel, a well educated traveler and crew member of the Pequod, narrates the story several years after these events have transpired. 2001: A Space Odyssey, is the story of humanity's actions following first extraterrestrial contact. Dr. Dave Bowman sets out on a journey to Jupiter to discover the source of a signal emanating from an obelisk buried beneath the surface of the moon. By the end of his trip, Bowman is the sole survivor of his ship's crew, and must destroy the computer that guided them, HAL, in order to survive.