cat's cradle
Kurt Vonnegut has written more then twenty books in the years he has been writing. Many of his books share characters, settings, or situations. Using the same characters and such creates a unity throughout his books. Likewise, Vonnegut seems to repeat themes throughout many of his books. A number of Vonnegut's books deal with themes that include structure and order in society. Kurt Vonnegut discusses mankind's need for structure and order by the creation of meaningless associations in his novels and schizophrenic traits in his characters. Cat's Cradle, written in 1963, revolves around created relationships and groups. Set in the small island of San Lorenzo, it is the story of a chemical that can end the world. It is quickly learned upon arrival at San Lorenzo that nearly all inhabitants practice Bokonism, a religion based solely on lies, Bokonism is a 'blatant opiate to blind people to the misery around them" (Giannone 69.) In the books of Bokonon, it is plainly stated to the readers that the religion is centered on lies, one of the verses proclaims, "I wanted all things to be happy/to seem to make some sense/so we could all be happy, yes/instead of tense/and I made up lies/so that they all fit nice/and I made this sad w
orld/into a paradise" (Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle 127.) The followers of Bokonism are ignorant to the lies they are following and see the religion as a positive aspect as it unites San Lorenzans. Different circumstances soon make it obvious that Bokonism is illegal. The Christian nation of San Lorenzo outlawed the practice of the religion many years ago, before exiling the creator, Bokonon. Bokonon, a highly intelligent and manipulative man was the mastermind behind outlawing his own religion. His "exile" was simply a disappearance into the wilderness, to give the religion more zest and appeal to the followers and to create a common struggle of religious freedom throughout San Lorenzo (Giannone 60.) The citizens of San Lorenzo feel closer to one another and part of a bigger whole with Bokonism. Being able to practice their forbidden religion with each other makes them feel more in control of their lives. Control is something many San Lorenzans need in their life due to the controlling government. Dwayne Hoover's friends and family try to stand by him and reach out for him as his mysterious symptoms progress almost exponentially, Dwayne's disposition can be accredited to schizophrenia. Dwayne exhibits nearly all schizophrenic symptoms. He begins slipping away from reality more and more often. His reality is replaced by hallucinations of rubbery asphalt and paranoia of any and everyone around him. Hallucinations, paranoia and escapes from reality are all symptoms of severe schizophrenia (Mental Health Network). Along with those symptoms, Dwayne suddenly demands perfection in every aspect of his life. Like other schizophrenics, Dwayne expects everyone around him to behave in congruency to his mind, and he expects everyone to know how to act. (Tufano 94.) Dwayne's schizophrenia eventually becomes the end of him. Throughout Vonnegut's novels, his characters continually need the structure and order of relationships, surroundings, and such to feel complete and in control of themselves. The schizophrenic characteristics of Frank Hoeni
Some common words found in the essay are:
San Lorenzo, Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut Slapstick, Frank Hoeniker, Dwayne Hoover's, Health Network, Eliza Wilbur, Breakfast Champions, Dwayne Hoover, Kurt Vonnegut, san lorenzo, breakfast champions, cat's cradle, eliza wilbur, schizophrenic traits characters, traits characters, dwayne hoover, frank hoeniker, schizophrenic traits, themes throughout, kurt vonnegut, traits characters cat's, characters cat's cradle, mental health network,
Approximate Word count = 1393
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
