How Does Vonnegut Use Language In Cat's Cradle

Vonnegut also shows meaningful language can be to certain people depending on whom is transmitting those words. Since language is the chief way of communicating ideas and beliefs, it can be easily manipulated by others to produce a specific outcome. In a note left by Bokonon the religious leader explains,

To whom it may concern: These people around you are almost all of the survivors on San Lorenzo of the winds that followed the freezing of the sea. These people made a captive of the spurious man named Bokonon. They brought him here, placed him at the center, and commanded him to tell them exactly what God Almighty was up to and what they should now do. The mountebank told them that God was surely trying to kill them, possibly because He was through with them, and that they should have the good manners to die. This you can see, they did. (Vonnegut 272-273)

The “people” Bokonon is referring to in the note are the victims of a mass suicide, which was prompted by the simple suggestion of another person.

The ability of some to guide the actions and thought processes of other individuals are not something that solely exists within Cat’s Cradle. Instead, there have been numerous times in which the powerful

Likewise, author mockingly refrains from using profanity throughout the song, as to satirically appease the people who were taking offense to the vulgar nature of most other N.W.A. lyrics. In this way, the speaker is utilizing music in an act of civil disobedience, which is actually made stronger by the simplicity of the