Cat's Cradle Journal 1 (Quarter 2)

            This quarter, I decided to read Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I did not completely understand this novel, but I will write about what I did get. I actually chose this book because I thought it would give me a lot to write about, but it may have been too deep for me. The plot revolves around the narrator, whose name is hardly ever mentioned, the Hoenikker family, and the island of San Lorenzo where they all happen to meet. The three Hoenikker children each have a piece of ice-nine, which has to potential to destroy the entire world. The other important character is Bokonon, the creator of a religion that is followed by the entire population of San Lorenzo. This religion, Bokononism, was made to mock other religions. Bokonon continually insists that everything he says and writes is a lie. Nevertheless, people still believe him and follow what he teaches. This novel is broken up strangely. The chapters are all pretty short, ranging from less than a page to about three pages at the most. This style makes the book seem choppy and disoriented. Each chapter ends with what can be seen as a punchline. This works well with the abundance of satire in the book. Vonnegut also includes a fair amount of foreshadowing. One example is when the narrator first meets Horlick Minton, the new American ambassador of San Lorenzo, and his wife, Claire. The narrator says that “When it came time for the Mintons to die, they did it within the same second.” Seventy-four chapters later, the Mintons end up falling to their death into the ocean together. Furthermore, the first chapter foreshadows the rest of the book when the narrator says that his name is Jonah, meaning that something has compelled him to be at certain places at certain times. Anyway, I’m really enjoying this book. It makes me want to read more of Vonnegut’s novels.