Insights at the end of a twisted plot tunnel

After finishing 20th century author Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle, I realized that even despite the far-out, fictional plot, I gained several insights from the reading. The novel follows an aspiring author, Jonah, on his journey to acquire knowledge about the day that the atomic bomb dropped, and more importantly, the life of the man who created that bomb. Vonnegut’s many assertions and claims throughout the book become prominent through the actions of the protagonists. Firstly, he asserts that people desire what they cannot have when exposing the ways of Bokonon, the man who craftily created the outlawed religion of Bokononism. It becomes apparent that he outlawed the religion to make it more desirable. By adding more “’zest,’” to the practice of Bokonon, it became more appealing to participate in the religion. I find this to be true in the reality as well. For instance, when watching R-rated movies remains prohibited for those under 17 years old, the movie only becomes more mysterious and attractive to those who cannot watch it. Another assertion made by Vonnegut within the reading transpires as the fact that people will go to extreme measures to attain something they desire. He displays this assertion perfectly through the experiences of the Hoenikker family. All three children acquired their father’s secret science project, ice-nine, and then proceeded to be taken advantage of by people they believed they could trust. Frank explains to his siblings that he attained a job with his share of ice-nine just like “’[Angela] bought [herself] a tomcat husband’” and “’Newt bought himself…Russian midget!’” (243). Each of their own circumstances prove that a person will do anything to acquire something they lust; both Angela’s and Newt’s significant other faked their love to acquire their ice-nine, and Frank paid for his job with it. In actuality, many people would do the same. For example, businessman Bernard Madoff participated in fraud, merely to acquire more money. However, his extreme actions landed him in prison. Lastly, Vonnegut claims throughout the book that not every situation is how one perceives it on the outside. Newt Hoenikker constantly explains that a cat’s cradle has absolutely nothing to do with either a cat or a cradle, making the game deceiving. So when he explains that his sister, Angela’s, life is not as glamorous as she leads on, he asks, “’See the cat? See the cradle?’” (179). Angela told the speaker, Jonah, about her husband, but neglected to tell him that, “’[he] is mean as hell to her’” (179). Moreover, I have taken this particular instance to mean that you cannot take every person and situation at simple face value. Ultimately, even among a twisted and fictitious plot, Vonnegut illustrated several very important insights that I will forever keep in mind. He encourages readers to stay away from materialism, to prioritize morals before desires, and to live with an open-mind. These particular lessons are targeted towards those who allow their desires to dictate their actions and to those who judge other prematurely.