Holly-Cat's+Cradle

** Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut ** **Authors Biography** Kurt Vonnegut was born on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is considered to be one of the most influential American novelists of the twentieth century. He mixed Literature with science fiction and humor. Vonnegut studied at Cornell University from 1940 to 1942. He was also enlisted in the U.S. army and served in the Battle of the Bulge, and was captured as a prisoner of war. Later in life he married his high school sweetheart and they had three children. His first book was published in 1952. After that more novels followed. Vonnegut struggled for years with depression despite his success, and in 1984 he attempted suicide. He died on April 12, 2007, at the age of 84 as a result of head injuries sustained in a fall at his home in New York a few weeks earlier.

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**Plot** In the book __Cat's Cradle__ a man named John is writing a book called //The Day The World Ended//. His book is about the day an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The Bomb was made by a man named Felix Hoenikker. Since Felix had already passed away, John wrote a letter to his son Newt for information about his father and his behavior the day the bomb was dropped. Newt replies saying he was only six years old and does not remember much at all about his father that day, but he did remember that his father was playing with a piece of string at his desk and made a cat's cradle out of it. Then he came over to Newt and tried to play with him, but Newt ran away crying because his father scared him. "When my sister Angela got me out from under the bush, she asked me what had happened between Father and me. I just kept saying over and over again how ugly he was, how much i hated him" (16). Soon after he got the letter from Newt, John went to the to the town where the Hoenikkers used to live to do more reserch. There he met several people who knew Felix. They told him stories about when they were in school together and how strange he used to act. They told John that they used to call Felix Secret Agent X-9. "He was always acting like he was on his way between two secret places; couldn't ever talk to anybody" (23). Inorder to gather more information, John went to a near by cemetary where Mr. and Mrs. Hoenikker's graves were. He noticed that Emily Hoenikker, Felix's wife, had a 20 foot tombstone and Felix only had a tiny one. Emily's marker had poems on it written by the children, and there was only one word on Felix's: Father. John also found out in his research on the Hoenikker family that Felix Hoenikker had invented ice-nine which had the potential to freeze all of the water in the whole world. Felix made it right before he died, and after he passed on his children took it and split it among themselves. Newt's soon to be wife stole his piece for the soviet government. Angela Hoenikker used her piece to buy a husband and Frank Hoenikker used his to get a job as Mayor General of San Lorenzo Island. Later in the book, John was asked to write an article about a very rich man living on the Island. On the plane, John realized that the Hoenikker children were on the same plane as he was. John, also on the plane, met the president of the Island named Monzano. Monzano was very sick and dying, right before his death he asked John to take his place as the next president. John excepted knowing that he would be able to marry the beautiful Mona, who at the time was engaged to Frank. Right before the ceremony Monzano's docotor had found out that he had committed suicide. John realized that he had swallowed ice-nine. Frank, Angela, and Newt all admited to splitting up the ice-nine right after their father had died. Soon the ceremony started and a plane crashed into the mountains taking out part of Monzano's home dropping him and the ice-nine into the ocean. That is when they found out how dangerous ice-nine really is...

** What Worked ** This book went into great detail and had wonderful imagery. Every character was well developed and had a unique personality. The ending of the book was absolutly hilarious and very creative. Also, each chapter in this book was very unusual and made the reader want to continue reading. One thing that did not work in this book is all of the random detail that have no significant meaning to develop the plot or any of the characters. Some of Vonnegut's thoughts were very random and seemed disorganized.
 * What didn't Work **

**Literary Information** The book __Cat's Cradle__ can be classified under several different genres. Some may think it is magical realism or a mix of social satire and science fiction. Others may think it is just plain absurd. Vonnegut's "black humorist" novel is a satirical commentary on modern man and his maddness (book description).

**Recomendations** I would recomend this book to those with a sence of humor. At some parts in Vonnegut's book it can be a bit cruel or unusual. People of religion may not find this book suitable.

**Books of the Same Genre** Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut Hocus Pocus by Vonnegut Fates Worse then Death by Vonnegut

[[http://www.amazon.com/Ranking-of-Vonnegut-books/lm/3QJQVJJ5CRG6|http://www.amazon.com/Ranking-of-Vonnegut-books/lm/3QJQVJJ5CRG6

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