"Cat's Cradle"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the novel, "Cat's Cradle", by Kurt Vonnegut, written at the height of the Cold War when most Americans lived in fear of a fiery nuclear apocalypse. Vonnegut presents a different but equally terrifying end, a world encased in ice. It discusses how one of the novel's themes is how human irresponsibility can contribute to this icy end. It examines how Vonnegut uses the major and minor characters in "Cat's Cradle" to reflect on the consequences of human irresponsibility and how, throughout the novel, Vonnegut presents characters whose irresponsibility helps bring much of life on earth to an end.

From the Paper:

"Despite his small stature, Newt is the most mature and well adjusted of the Hoenikker children. Still, Newt remains focused on the major disappointments of his childhood. The fact that he found neither cat nor cradle in the tangle of strings presented by his father causes Newt to believe in the lack of meaning in all human life. He thus becomes an easy target for the Russian spy Zinka, who pretends to love him in order to get to his share of the ice-nine. At the apocalypse, Newt remains unwilling to confront the horrors of the icy apocalypse that he helped to usher. Instead, he focuses on scavenging for paint, and on turning inward and coping through his art."

More papers on "Cat's Cradle":

• Analytical Essay # 42161 : "Cat's Cradle"
• Book Review # 117603 : "Cat's Cradle" by Vonnegut Kurt"
• Analytical Essay # 47520 : "Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: