FREE ESSAY ON CAT'S CRADLE

CAT'S CRADLE

In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O'Connor has written, "I am
interested in making a good case for distortion because it is the only way to make people
see." 
Kurt Vonnegut writes pessimistic novels, or at least he did back in the sixties. Between
Slaughterhouse Five, Mother Night, and Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut paints a cynical and
satirical picture of the degradation of society using distortion as the primary means to
express himself. In Cat's Cradle, the reader is confronted with the story of the
narrator, John, as he attempts to gather material to write a book on the human aspect of
the day Japan was bombed. As the story progresses, he finds that becomes increasingly
difficult to distinguish reality from illusion. He meets up with a midget, a dictator,
and a nation's object of lust as his journey progresses, and he eventually ends up the
sole leader of a remote island and witnesses the end of the world. Using implausible
stories and unbelievable characters and situations to convey his message, Vonnegut's
utilization of literary distortion allows him to move the reader and prove his point in a
far greater way than he could by just blatantly shouting his opinions. "Anyone unable to
understand how useful a religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book
either"(16), states the narrator, concerning Cat's Cradle. Throughout the text, Vonnegut
uses the religion of Bokononism, which is a fictitious faith founded on the basis of
deception, to establish that people can prosper and be happy under false beliefs. When
two men founded the island nation of San Lorenzo, Cat's Cradle's model for society, it
was decided by them that the only way to keep starving natives from revolting was to
create a religion focusing on the individual and then outlaw it. By doing this, the
people could "all employed full time as actors in a play they understood, that human
being everywhere could enjoy and applaud" (144). So became Bokononism, one of the men
taking charge of the government, and the other, Bokonon, retreating into the forest to
preach his faith. After exploring the theory of Bokononism, and machinations of the men
behind it, the reader is left wondering if Vonnegut is implying that democracy and our
American ideals could be, perhaps, an elaborate hoax. Bokonon's words: I wanted all
things To seem to make more sense, So we all could be happy, yes Instead of tense. And I
made up lies So that they would all fit nice And I made this sad world A par-a-dise (109)
Upon his arrival at San Lorenzo, John is struck by the illusionary visage that the island
projects. From his room in the luxurious "Casa Mona," he is blessed with a view of the
island's one paved street, the harbor, the airport, and a multiplicity of well manicured
lawns and hedges. However, "the squalor and misery of the city, being to the sides and
back of the Casa Mona, were impossible to see" (131). This clouded sense of beauty
projected by the hotel may be interpreted as yet another metaphor blasting the concept of
nationality. Perhaps the bells and whistles decorating our freedom and independence are
merely distracting us from the corruption and destruction being planned behind the
scenes? Perhaps we really have no business calling ourselves "one nation under god", as
we are simply millions of people with millions of different interests? As John states:
…a seeming team that [is] meaningless in terms of the ways God gets things done, a
textbook example of what Bokonon calls a "granfallon." Other examples of "granfallons"
are the Communist party, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the General Electric
Company, the International order of Odd Fellows-and any nation, any time, anywhere. (82)

Bokononism says that if there is a god, he is a practical joker, and the destruction of
the world is thought of to be the Almighty's final horrible joke. In one of his last
statements, Bokonon states that this God is hardly the all-loving entity he is perceived
to be. 
Someday, someday, this crazy world will come to an end, and our God will take things back
that He to us did lend. And if, on that sad day, you want to scold our God, why go ahead
and scold Him. He'll just smile and nod. (218) In this same cool manner does Bokonon go
about breaking the news that God does not intervene with human affairs, rather it is man
who must control his own destiny. Man blinked. "What is the purpose of all of all this?"
he asked politely. "Everything must have a purpose?" asked God. "Certainly," said man.
"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God. And He went away. (215)

While the notion of a practical joking funnyman as a heavenly father may offend some
churchgoers, 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. 
Bibliography
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