I finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In the end, the ice-nine falls into the
ocean, and the world ends. The ocean turns to stone, and tornadoes tear up the
land. The narrator survives by hiding in an underground dungeon with Mona, his
new wife. It is implied that most, if not all, of the rest of humanity has
perished, but no one can be sure. In the final chapter of the novel, the
narrator finally meets Bokonon, who is writing the last sentence of his book.
He writes that if he was younger, then he would “write a history of human stupidity
… climb to the top the top of Mount McCabe… [and die] grinning horribly, and
thumbing my nose at You Know Who.” The story’s conclusion is open-ended, but
the reader can infer that the narrator does exactly what Bokonon suggests. I could
not have predicted that the book would end this way, but it was foreshadowed.
The narrator had stated several times that he felt irrationally compelled to
climb Mount McCabe, but he did not know why. Also, Frank Hoenikker tells the
narrator that no one has ever climbed Mount McCabe, simply because they have
not felt the need to do so. There is a chilling scene after the narrator returns
to the surface, when he sees the citizens of San Lorenzo have committed mass
suicide at the suggestion of Bokonon, though Bokonon himself still lives. Mona
tells that the narrator that Bokonon would never follow his own advice because
he knew how worthless it was. Naturally, the narrator views this as a terrible
atrocity. However, Mona sees everyone’s deaths as an appropriate response to
the circumstances and kills herself as well. I believe that this is a good
representation of the madness that goes with the horror of the situation. I
really enjoyed reading Cat’s Cradle
and might even consider reading it again someday.
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