The Masterpiece of Cat's Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut, critically acclaimed author of several best-selling novels, uses self-expression and psychological manipulation to stress to the reader his beliefs and ideas dispersed within the context of Cat's Cradle. From reading this novel, one might attribute perplexity pondering over the plot and general story line of the book. Cat's Cradle entangles itself in many interesting changes of events; strange outlandish ideas and psychological "black holes" can be found with just the flip of a page.
However, Vonnegut purposely uses this technique. It takes an open-minded reader to comprehend the intricate and explicit meaning behind Vonnegut's literature. Vonnegut wrote Cat's Cradle, not for the plot, but more as an outlet for his psychological viewpoints. This is exemplified with the opening line "Call me Jonah" (Vonnegut 11). The line is a parody of the first line of Melville's most-famous Moby Dick. Literary critic Peter Reed points out that "it is characteristic that Vonnegut's speaker should be a Jonah, who does in effect get swallowed by the whale, rather than a whale-hunting Ishmael" (Reed 124). If the reader was to examine the use of this line, he would recognize that Vonnegut's intent and purpose is not to provide a reasonable and serious plot. If one does not realize this while reading, he is overwhelmed by symbols and characters whose only true purpose is to further express the author's ideas.
The novel does, however have a plot. First we meet our narrator, Jonah. Jonah intends to right a book called The Day the World Ended which is to be about events in the lives of well known in...
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...ader continues to comprehend, expecting to find out what these "symbols" represent, Vonnegut plants sub-concious ideas that eventually take effect. To put it simply, Cat's Cradle might be considered a "thinking-novel".
Vonnegut's excellent technique and unique style are unbelievably powerful. The thought-provoking text and incredibly-well developed characters are not to be forgotten either. It would be an understatement to say that Cat's Cradle is a commendable literary work. Vonnegut has certainly composed a masterpiece to be unforgotten and talked about for years to come.
Works Cited:
Reed, Peter J. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Writers for the 70's). New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1972
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1963.
Vonnegut deals a lot with fantasy in his book, Cat's Cradle. From the beginning, he talks about the religion that he follows: Bokonism. This is not a real religion, however he has rules, songs, scriptures, and opinions of a person that practices this fantasy religion. Within his description of this religion however is black humor as well. I think that by him making up this whole religion and an entire island of people who follow it, is in a way mocking today's religion and the way that people are dedicated to their beliefs.
...hurchgoers, it is Vonnegut's way of saying that we may be taking our concept of religion too far. Only MAN is sacred in Bokononism, and that may be an aspect left out of organized faith. We may only live once, and wasting our lives preparing for the one hereafter may be a phenomenal waste of time. In conclusion, while some of the events and ideas present in Cat's Cradle may register as ridiculous and just plain "weird," it is with these feelings that Vonnegut wished his readers to experience his novel. Only by creating extreme situations and extraordinary theories was Vonnegut able to reproduce the level of absurdity he felt towards society. When a novel simply denouncing God, America, and progress may have been shunned and ignored by the masses, the humorous and witty, yet bitter account of the end of the world present in Cat's Cradle was able to make an impact.
I think one thing that Vonnegut is trying to show us is that man too easily accepts things as valid without questioning. Refering to this, Newt, another character, says, "No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's…No damn cat, and no damn cradle" (114).
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a satire on the state of world affairs in the 1960's. Vonnegut made a commentary in this book on the tendency of humans to be warlike, belligerent, and shortsighted. The main character of the book, the narrator, is certainly not a protagonist, although the modern reader craves a hero in every story and the narrator in this one is the most likely candidate. Through the narrator's eyes, Vonnegut created a story of black humor ending in the destruction of the earth.
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.
American were treated equal lies right by Fall Creek. Vonnegut was nothing if not a Hoosier.
The Ku Klux Klan was established shortly after the American Civil War in 1866 and was prevalent in most southern states by 1870. The group was driven by violence and racism to combat the post war equality legislature that was beginning to pass in Congress. Since then, the Klan has had a long history that has had an impact on America on several levels. There has been a recent strong effort to put an end to their irrational destructive behavior towards African Americans, Hispanics, Jews, Homosexuals, and many more.
Carver, Raymond. Cathedral. “The Norton Introduction to Literature.” New York: W.W Norton &, 2014. Print.
By taking the law into their own hands the Klan made sure the laws were respected. Hooded Klansmen sometimes took their victims in brood daylight but mostly they piled into cars and went “nightriding”.
Before slavery was abolished, plantations and farms had patrols that rode on horses, making sure that if a slave had tried to escape, they would hunt he or she down and torture or kill the escaping slave worker. In the absence of slavery the KKK were the new “patrols.” The first Ku Klux Klan was founded by a group of Confederate veterans in Pulaski Tennessee in 1865, coincidental the same year when slavery was abolished in the U.S. The KKK was not connected with the law because slavery
The KKK was once an African American hate group in the late 1800’s, created by Confederate generals who wanted to continue suppressing their former slaves with terror. It was shut down after their leaders were plagued with scandals, and their business dealings put out into the open, for all to see and read. People finally understood what the Klan was about and obviously did not want it. Although in 1915, William J. Simmons watched D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” which depicted the story of what happened after the Civil War, through the eyes of a glorified Klansman. He was stargazed at how Griffith depicted the Klan, and as him being a long time joiner of clubs, he decided to bring back the Ku Klux Klan. A surprising fact is how a man like this could lead a group of hate, as he used to be a minister. (“Ku Klux Klan -- Extremism in America”) This second generation of the Klan created almost an “Invisible Empire” by their high point. Their members were scattered across state and federal government, and one could say that they “co...
The critical time periods in the Ku Klux Klan’s history can be simply broken down into separate “Klans.” Former Confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tennessee formed the first Klan around a year after the end of the Civil War. Soon after, Nathan Forrest, a former Confederate lieutenant general, was named the “Grand Wizard” of the organization. The “main objective of white supremacy organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, the White Brotherhood, the Men of Justice, the Constitutional Union Guards and the Knights of the White Camelia was to stop black people from voting” and restore the white supremacy the South saw prior to the Civil War ("Effects of the Klu Klux Klan"). At this point, Klansmen would ride at night through towns brutally intimidating, blacks and radical Republicans. These tactics got so bad that in 1870, Congress began passing the first of three...
I have learned that the Ku Klux Klan was in response to the Southern bitterness towards blacks having won freedom from slavery in the aftermath of the civil war. Congress had passed the Reconstruction Acts which divided the South into 5 military districts, each under a general. New elections were to be held in each state with freed, black, male slaves being allowed to vote; this infuriated Southerners. The first branch of the Ku Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee, around 1865, the name Ku Klux comes from the Greek word, Kuklose, meaning circle. The Klan was a secret organization founded by 6 ex-confederate veterans, they considered the Klan to be a secret social club, not knowing what a violent organization it would turn into. They decided to make their Klan costumes as odd as possible. Klan members would be dressed in white sheets and their faces would be covered with white masks. These ex-soldiers would ride through the town, make jokes and act silly, this made former black slaves to believe that the ghosts of the Confederate dead had risen to reclaim their land. Many Southerners began to join the Klan and harm former black slaves. Soon these night rides turned into violent night rides and lynching’s. Once the Klan began to make a name for itself, General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the famous cavalry leader, became the leader of this invisible empire. The Klan was effective in keeping blacks away from the voting polls. The Klan was coming under increased attack by Congress and the Reconstruction state governments. The leaders of the Klan realized that the Klan’s end was near as an organized force.
The Ku Klux Klan began in Pulaski, Tennessee, a small town south of Nashville. On the night of December 24, 1865 six ex-confederate soldiers were sitting around a fireplace it the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones.(Invisible Empire, p.9) These six friends were having a discussion and were trying to come up with an idea to cheer themselves up.