Cat's Cradle

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, he wrote about the end of the world. A major theme in the novel was about how technology, if not taken serious or taken to far, could potentially destroy earth as we know it. It was all about how careless people are with what they invent and why they want to invent something new. In the novel, Felix Hoenikker, the father of the atom bomb, was asked to invent something so the marines no longer have to deal with mud. Everyone ignored this request besides Felix. While no one was watching, he created one of the worlds most dangerous material even known. A weapon created for the sole use of making mud solid.

His message was to warn people about how far they can take technology, and possibly there is a reason why we have the few elements we have and we should keep it that way. We went far enough with the atomic bomb which, during the authors time was the most dangerous weapon, but now there are new forms of weapons such as gases and biological weapons.

The quote I chose was on page 171 during the ambassador's speech.

"...Think of people.
"And children murdered in war...
"And any country at all.
"Think of peace.
"Think of brotherly love.
"Think of plenty.
"Think of what paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise."

I thought this quote was important because it expresses the characters views as well as my own. Vonnegut wrote such a powerful message using a very small variety of words. It is almost like a poem using repetition and using a meaning of peace and the wanting of peace on earth and sorrow for everyone, in every country, because everybody dies a little with every war. We are all people, whether it is your country losing people, or your enemies, some one's child or children are being murdered.

I thought this novel was interesting in a very good way. At first I had no clue what was going on and did not understand what the plot was suppose to be up until the last few chapters, but once I understood, the rest of the novel clicked together and it all made sense and it was excellent! Vonnegut's ironic style made me laugh at parts and then right away would make me think about something and have me thinking about it even after I put the book down. I also liked the religion or following he created because it puts a realistic view on religion. Bokononism has a little of something everybody wonders about or believes in. As a whole, this is one of the best books we have read in class so far.