Daniel+Cat's+Cradle

//**Cat's Cradle**// is a dark-humored science-fiction novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It was published in 1963.

The Author:
Kurt Vonnegut was born in November of 1922, the last of three children. After his mother died due to an overdose of sleeping pills, Vonnegut enrolled at Cornell University. Vonnegut then enlisted in the United States Army to serve in World War II, where he was captured by German forces. Following his release, Vonnegut moved to New York to begin his writing career. His first published work was in 1950, “Report on the Barnhouse Effect”, a short story which appeared in the magazine, // Collier's //. Vonnegut became much more famous for his novels, the first of which was // Player Piano // in 1952. // Cat's Cradle // is Vonnegut's third full novel.

The Plot:
// Cat's Cradle // is the story of Jonah, a young man who, during his time at Cornell University, decides to write a book titled, // The Day The World Ended //. The book would have been, “an account of what important Americans had done on the day when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima” (Vonnegut, 1). The first person Jonah attempts to find an account of is Dr. Felix Hoenikker, who in the novel was one of the biggest players in the development of the nuclear bomb. Because Felix is already dead, Jonah contacts Felix's son, Newton “Newt” Hoenikker. Newt, having been only six on the day of the bomb dropping, was unable to give an accurate description of the day, but recommends his brother and sister, Frank and Angela Hoenikker.

Unable to contact either of the other Hoenikker children, Jonah puts off the writing of his book for a year until he comes across Dr. Asa Breed, Felix's old supervisor, still working at the research laboratory in Illium, New York. Dr. Breed, while trying to explain the eccentricities of the Research Laboratory to Jonah, tells an old story. The United States Army once requested that Felix develop some means of destroying mud, and that the means should be small and easily portable. Felix, in turn, gave the idea of a special type of ice, // ice-nine //, which freezes at room temperature or higher. The idea was that when dropped, the mud would effectively be taught how to freeze, and instantly solidify. The problem was that all the groundwater, rivers, lakes, and oceans linked to that mud would also freeze, causing an apocalypse. Although neither Dr. Breed or Jonah knew it at the time, Felix eventually did develop real // ice-nine //, and that pieces of which were in the possession of each of his children.

Again, Jonah hits a dead end, and is forced to put off the project until discovering the location of Franklin Hoenikker as both General and Minister of Science in The Island Republic of San Lorenzo. Franklin had floated to San Lorenzo after a shipwreck, and when the island's dictator discovers his heritage, “every door to opportunity in San Lorenzo has been opened wide” (Vonnegut, 83). Jonah is attracted to visit San Lorenzo, both to speak with Franklin Hoenikker and to meet the beautiful woman on the island's ad, Mona Aamons Monzano.

On the flight to San Lorenzo, Jonah meets the American Ambassador to San Lorenzo, Horlick Minton, and his wife. Jonah also meets Angela and Newt in person, who have boarded the same plane. There is a book, which Jonah reads during the flight, detailing the history of San Lorenzo, and of the Bokononist religion, which started there.

While welcoming the passengers to San Lorenzo, “Papa” Monzano, the island's dictator, suffers a heart attack, and is taken away. Angela and Newt are taken to Franklin's residence while Jonah is transported to the island's only hotel. The hotel is nearly empty and run by Philip Castle, son of Julian Castle, who founded The House of Hope and Mercy in The Jungle, San Lorenzo's only hospital. Philip also tells Jonah that despite it being illegal, punishable by a gruesome, hook-related death, every person on San Lorenzo is a practicing Bokononist.

Jonah receives a call from Franklin, asking Jonah to come to his house as quickly as possible. When Jonah arrives, Franklin is not present, though Newt and Angela are. Franklin eventually does return, and frantically explains his situation to Jonah. Because “Papa” Monzano will be unable to retake his position as Dictator/President of San Lorenzo, Frank was declared to be his successor. However, Frank is too socially awkward for such a role, and offers Jonah the opportunity to take his place. Jonah finally agrees, when Franklin tells him that by becoming President, Jonah will be able to marry Mona. Mona, in turn agrees to marry Jonah if he converts to Bokononism, to which he also agrees.

The next day, when Jonah is to be sworn in, he and the Hoenikker children find that “Papa” Monzano, failing to recover from from the heart attack, had committed suicide by swallowing a fragment of // ice-nine //. Frank had given “Papa” some of his // ice-nine // to secure his role as General. It is also revealed that Angela had lost some of her sample to her husband, who was a spy for the United States, and that Newt had lost some of his during an affair with a Russian spy. Frank and the others realize the importance of destroying the body before it can contaminate anything else, but decide to put it off until after the ceremony.

During the ceremony, one of the planes flying over for an airshow malfunctions and crashes into the castle. The resulting explosion and collapse kills the Mintons, and sends “Papa” Monzano's body into the ocean, instantly freezing all water on Earth. The climate change causes a massive wave of tornadoes, forcing Jonah and Mona to seek shelter in the castle's Oubliette. While waiting for the tornadoes to fade away, Jonah finds a copy of // The Books of Bokonon //, which he reads through. On the seventh day, Jonah and Mona leave the Oubliette, to explore the nearly-dead outside world. media type="youtube" key="sbEf5PIehes" height="204" width="336" Ambrosia's song, "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", uses lyrics from //The Books of Bokonon.//

The Characters:

 * **Bokonon** is the creator of the Bokononist religion. His real name is Lionel Boyd Johnson, and “Bokonon” is simply how “Johnson” is pronounced in the San Lorenzan dialect. He, like Frank Hoenikker, arrived on San Lorenzo after being carried there by the tide. He created the Bokononist religion as a means of controlling the people.
 * **Jonah** is the novel's protagonist and narrator. He is a practicing Bokononist who attributes the fact that he consistently finds himself involved the the overarching plot to his // karass // . He is a cynic, an alcoholic and a writer.
 * **Felix Hoenikker** was one of the lead scientists in the development of the nuclear bomb, and the creator of // ice-nine // . He has the behavior and curiosity of a child; Dr. Breed describes him as “a force of nature no mortal could possibly control” (Vonnegut, 21). He is dead before the novel starts.
 * **Newton “Newt” Hoenikker** is the first of Felix's children that Jonah encounters. He is a midget, and resents how Angela treats him as a child. Newt loses some of his // ice-nine // during a relationship with a Russian midget named Zinka, who was actually a Soviet spy.
 * **Angela Hoenikker** is the second of Felix's children that Jonah encounters. Because her father insisted that she stay home and play the role of a mother for Frank and Newt, she never had any friends. Angela loses some of her // ice-nine // to her husband, who is a spy for the Americans. She dies trying to play her clarinet after it becomes contaminated by // ice-nine //.
 * **Franklin Hoenikker** is the last of Felix's children that Jonah encounters. His major hobby as a child was making model airplanes, which earned him a reputation as a nerd during High School. Franklin washed ashore on San Lorenzo after the ship he was using to smuggle cars from Cuba sank. “Papa” Monzano agrees to appoint him the rank of General in exchange for a sample of // ice-nine //.
 * **Julian Castle** is an extremely wealthy man who built Castle Sugar on San Lorenzo as a way of seizing the islands little arable land. He founded the House of Hope and Mercy in The Jungle as a way of repenting for his earlier misdeeds. He and his son Philip die during the initial // ice-nine // fallout rushing to the hospital to try and save as many lives as they could.
 * “ **Papa” Monzano** is the dictator of San Lorenzo. He follows the path of previous dictators by outlawing Bokononism to give the religion an air of mystique. He suffers a heart attack and latter commits suicide by swallowing // ice-nine //.
 * ** Mona Aamons Monzano ** is the poster girl of San Lorenzo. “Papa” Monzano adopted her as a daughter for propaganda purposes. She also agrees to marry the next President of San Lorenzo. Mona kills herself after seeing a mass suicide at the top of Mount McCabe.

Criticism:
Although exceptionally witty and well-written, //Cat's Cradle// occasionally suffers from being a bit too dark in tone, and from having characters which severely lacked the development of comparable great works. The novel's symbolism could also be seen as being too blatant, namely the use of //ice-nine// to represent the danger of technology as a whole.

**Works Cited:**
*Kurt Vonnegut Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 6/3/10 <[]>
 * And the book itself, of course

See Also:
Compiled segments of The Books of Bokonon, and list of Bokononist terms