A Brief Reading of Cat’s Cradle
I was mystified by a book I read this past March, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is a meditation of meaning, or rather the meaning we create as humans in a world that sometimes feels devoid of meaning or even truth. This theme, or central question, “what is truth?” is an incredible undertaking for any writer to tackle. Kurt Vonnegut does so with humor in his sci-fi satire.
What is truth?
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What is truth? *
The protagonist of Cat’s Cradle is a writer, trying to make sense of the world around him, much like Vonnegut himself. His first assignment is about the day the World ended, the day that Hiroshima was bombed. But instead of focusing on the impact of the Atomic bomb on Japan, our protagonist focuses on a small family in a town called Ilium. He writes about the Hoenikker family, fixating on Felix Hoenikker, the maker of the Atom bomb. This family, now separated by the distance of time, becomes part of his ‘Karass.’
The term Karass, we later learn, comes from the religion of Bokononism. Though Kurt Vonnegut creates Bokononism to make fun of the impact that religion sometimes has on its followers in general, it draws from ideas of Eastern philosophy and Christianity. The Karass is a group of people that, for some reason or another, belong to each other. Much like soul clusters, or the belief in spiritual groupings, the Karass is a mystical and important kinship.
Cat’s Cradle also explores Granfalloons which is a false kinship. The difference between the two seems at times like a meditation on truth and on reality. What is real in a world plagued by so many unknowns? Well, for the protagonist, the reality of his situation is that of storyteller, accountant, and survivor. In his exploration of the last day on earth, Jonah learns about the invention of Ice 9.
Felix Hoenikker created something that turns water into ice, only, without thinking of the ramifications of his invention. If water were to be turned to Ice, all the ponds, rivers, and oceans would become tundra. Wasteland would be unleashed with the simple drop of ice into water. Felix entrusted his deathly invention to his three children after his death. So, our protagonist’s Karass is now known for its destructive potential.
After learning about Ice 9, Jonah chooses to shift his focus from the last day on earth to the struggling republic of San Lorenzo. He does so because he is utterly mystified by a picture of a girl who lives on the island, a girl who is said to take on a symbolic quality of beauty and virtue for the small republic. This girl is none other than Mona Amons Monzano, soon to be married to a member of Jonah’s Karass. Mona and Frank Hoenikker, one of Felix’s children, are the subject of this new chapter in Jonah’s life. He writes with the intention of learning more about Mona, but soon discovers a world of government corruption steered by the politics of Ice 9 and the outlawed religion of Bokononism.
When given the opportunity to read the book of Bokonon, Jonah devours its forbidden pages and becomes a staunch supporter of Bokonon. Bokonon is a rebel outlaw who is hunted for his beliefs and teachings. Soon Jonah learns that the religion was only outlawed to deify Bokonon so he would garner more followers. Everyone on the island of San Lorenzo is a Bokononist but if caught practicing, they pay the price of the hook. They must be publicly hung and bled from a torture device. Jonah is shocked by the hypocrisy and ridiculousness of such a religion and government.
The meaning he derives from life’s seeming futility is only compounded when the leader of San Lorenzo, Papa Monzano, swallows Ice 9 in an act of suicide that soon enveloped the world in Ice and tundra. Jonah escapes with Mona in a bunker, attempting to become a family, to which Mona refuses. Once safe, though, they both explore the many statues that covered the island of San Lorenzo, people that are frozen in time by the Ice 9. Mona decided to join them in death by taking some of the Ice. Jonah is horrified but continues to wander in a meaningless search for survivors. He stumbles upon Bokonon who has no answers and thumbs his nose at you know who. It seems that in a tale about science, power, religion, and nature, there is little reason and order after all.
