Cat's Cradle

Part A

One argument that Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut brings up deals with the roles of religion and science in society. More specifically, can a society based completely on one extreme (religion) survive without its counter (science), and vice versa. In the novel, John, the narrator, is trying to detail the events that occurred in the life of Felix Hoenikker (one of the creators of the atomic bomb) on the day that the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Through a series of events, he learns of a religion known as Bokononism in a place called San Lorenzo. The novel answers the question of science vs. religion via the use of examples of both extremes. To demonstrate that a society cannot function with religion as the only factor, the reader learns of Bokonon and his religion appropriately named Bokononism. The reader comes to realize that this religion is based on lies; the basis for religion is uncertainty. The problem with a society only concerned with religion is an absence of drive to change. If we leave our fate to chance and place everything in the hands of good faith, what will we accomplish?

A society based solely on science cannot function as well. Felix Hoenikker, the creator of the atomic bomb, is the perfect example of a genius with no moral compass. On the day that the bomb was dropped he was simply relaxing, idly playing with a piece of string. He felt no remorse for the lives lost via his creation. In a society consumed by science and truth, morals would dissapear. Science physically can help people, but the help it can provide some can ultimately destroy others. Science and truth is worthless without a force to control it.

Both extremes are shown in negative lights in Cat's Cradle in order to warn the reader of the dangers of an unbalanced society. It is imporantat to have a balance of both. Science (exemplified by Hoenikker's mind and his creations like ice-nine) is powerful and it makes change happen while religion (Bokononism) provides an opposing force to control change. A society of one extreme cannot exist without the other, as proven by this novel.

Part B

"Dr. Hoenikker...had baked his last batch of brownies. He had made a chip of ice-nine. It was blue-white. It had a melting point of one-hundred-fourteen-point-four degrees Fahrenheit. (He) had put the chip in a little bottle...The old man died on Christmas Eve...His children had divided the ice-nine among themselves" (Vonnegut 42).

Ice-nine is a substance that turns liquid to solid, water to ice. While its purpose is not to end the world, that is exactly what it will do if it is released into a body of water. The ice-nine's effects would begin to reach all moisture on earth via adhesion of water particles, and the end of the worldwould be inevitable. Considering this fact, it is an incredible use of understatement on the part of Vonnegut to compare ice-nine to a batch of brownies. I like this quote because it shows the lack of awareness Hoenikker had. To nonchalantly compare a substance that could end the world to an innocent substance like brownies is humourous in a slightly distrurbing and unsettling way.

Part C

On the whole, I did not enjoy Cat's Cradle. I felt that Vonnegut's stlye was distracting to read. Chapters switched very rapidly and it was occasionally difficult to keep track of names at the beginning of the novel. While the novel was not entirely pleasing to me, I did find the core question of science vs. religion rather fascinating. Vonnegut's use of ice-nine versus Bokononism to expound upon that question was cleverly employed and it cannot be ignored despite some other displeasing factors that contributed to the reading experience.