Affecting millions of Americans, WWII was one of the worst tragedies the world has seen. Many individuals were directly involved in the cause. One of these individuals was Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut was heavily influenced by his experiences which is clearly shown through his writings. Vonnegut, most famous for his satire, pokes humor in all aspects of life. War being one of his favorite satirical subjects, Cat’s Cradle speaks of the end of the world. As the main character, John, seeks out the creator of the atomic bomb, he ends up going on an adventure taking him all over. Vonnegut manages to bring John from New York to the feet of a dictator in San Lorenzo in a crafty manner. In a very “Vonnegut” fashion, he opens Cat’s Cradle talking about a made up religion. Right from the start Vonnegut is questioning the true meaning behind religion. In the most brilliant way, Vonnegut makes the reader laugh at the turn of almost every page while still getting his personal views across. Unlike some more “notable” authors, Vonnegut goes about writing in deep, but simple manner. His writing lacks the elegant fashion of many, but makes up for it in his ability to create a story touch on all aspects of life. For example, the whole book is Vonnegut setting up one giant ironic situation where John goes to seek the man who created the atomic bomb. John, who is writing a book on the end of the world, befriends the creator. After the many different places they go, he finds that he is faced with the true end of the world, but not with the invention he had originally thought. While this whole ironic situation is being set up, Vonnegut finds a way to make fun of the stupidity in mankind. From religion to mass destruction, he touches on almost every subject. This has to be the best book I have ever read. I have always gotten a kick out of sarcasm. He can make a reader laugh at some of the darkest aspects of life. I was bursting out in laughter at some of the oddities he uses in his story, yet, at the same time, each character was faced with a different serious issue each chapter. Vonnegut did an amazing job of making the reader feel involved in the story. As the story progresses, I felt that I related to each character in some way. I felt most connected to the selfish nature of the characters. It was sad but true. The most relatable parts of the story were when characters acted in self interest that I connected with. For example, when the Hoenikkers took ice nine from their father to use for power. It is hard to say I wouldn’t have done the same. However, my favorite character is Felix Hoenikker because of his innocent destructive nature. Felix does his own thing and cares about himself. He can’t focus, show emotion towards family, make money, or hold basic interactions with people, yet he had the ability to make two different world ending devices. This was never his intention, but his blindness to true human nature allowed him to release these inventions the world. Adding to the case of human’s or lack of ability to realize this and end the world by accident. The one thing that is worth mentioning is that Cat’s Cradle has a very different structure to it. Vonnegut takes a different approach to order of events. He decides to move the ending to the middle of the book. It made it more of a cliff hanger earlier on and did a great job of holding my interest. For the last portion of the book, nothing surprising or exciting really happens. Vonnegut just sums up the book. I actually enjoyed this structure, but some people would say that the ending was poor. Among this unique structure was many anecdotes. In the beginning, I thought it was weird that he included so many weird and at the moment irrelevant information, but later I found that it all tied together. I would highly recommend this book to people who enjoy satire or to people who want to change things up. Vonnegut has many interesting perspectives on life. I would also recommend researching Vonnegut’s life and personal views. It will make it easier to pick up on the satire and provide one with a different perspective.
War being one of his favorite satirical subjects, Cat’s Cradle speaks of the end of the world. As the main character, John, seeks out the creator of the atomic bomb, he ends up going on an adventure taking him all over. Vonnegut manages to bring John from New York to the feet of a dictator in San Lorenzo in a crafty manner. In a very “Vonnegut” fashion, he opens Cat’s Cradle talking about a made up religion. Right from the start Vonnegut is questioning the true meaning behind religion. In the most brilliant way, Vonnegut makes the reader laugh at the turn of almost every page while still getting his personal views across.
Unlike some more “notable” authors, Vonnegut goes about writing in deep, but simple manner. His writing lacks the elegant fashion of many, but makes up for it in his ability to create a story touch on all aspects of life. For example, the whole book is Vonnegut setting up one giant ironic situation where John goes to seek the man who created the atomic bomb. John, who is writing a book on the end of the world, befriends the creator. After the many different places they go, he finds that he is faced with the true end of the world, but not with the invention he had originally thought.
While this whole ironic situation is being set up, Vonnegut finds a way to make fun of the stupidity in mankind. From religion to mass destruction, he touches on almost every subject.
This has to be the best book I have ever read. I have always gotten a kick out of sarcasm. He can make a reader laugh at some of the darkest aspects of life. I was bursting out in laughter at some of the oddities he uses in his story, yet, at the same time, each character was faced with a different serious issue each chapter. Vonnegut did an amazing job of making the reader feel involved in the story. As the story progresses, I felt that I related to each character in some way. I felt most connected to the selfish nature of the characters. It was sad but true. The most relatable parts of the story were when characters acted in self interest that I connected with. For example, when the Hoenikkers took ice nine from their father to use for power. It is hard to say I wouldn’t have done the same. However, my favorite character is Felix Hoenikker because of his innocent destructive nature. Felix does his own thing and cares about himself. He can’t focus, show emotion towards family, make money, or hold basic interactions with people, yet he had the ability to make two different world ending devices. This was never his intention, but his blindness to true human nature allowed him to release these inventions the world. Adding to the case of human’s or lack of ability to realize this and end the world by accident.
The one thing that is worth mentioning is that Cat’s Cradle has a very different structure to it. Vonnegut takes a different approach to order of events. He decides to move the ending to the middle of the book. It made it more of a cliff hanger earlier on and did a great job of holding my interest. For the last portion of the book, nothing surprising or exciting really happens. Vonnegut just sums up the book. I actually enjoyed this structure, but some people would say that the ending was poor. Among this unique structure was many anecdotes. In the beginning, I thought it was weird that he included so many weird and at the moment irrelevant information, but later I found that it all tied together. I would highly recommend this book to people who enjoy satire or to people who want to change things up. Vonnegut has many interesting perspectives on life. I would also recommend researching Vonnegut’s life and personal views. It will make it easier to pick up on the satire and provide one with a different perspective.