Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
"Cat's Cradle" is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut that explores the intersection of science, religion, and the human condition through a satirical lens. The story follows John, a freelance writer, as he investigates the legacy of Dr. Felix Hoenikker, a key figure in the development of the atomic bomb. John's research leads him to Hoenikker’s children, who have inherited a dangerous substance called ice-nine, a theoretical material that freezes water instantly. As John travels to the fictional Caribbean island of San Lorenzo, he encounters a diverse cast of characters, each grappling with their own existential dilemmas influenced by both science and a fabricated religion known as Bokononism.
The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of impending doom, as ice-nine becomes a symbol of humanity's hubris and the potential for self-destruction. Through its exploration of themes such as the absurdity of existence and the folly of human endeavor, "Cat's Cradle" critiques the moral implications of scientific advancement and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. The novel culminates in a catastrophic event that highlights the dire consequences of human actions, ultimately leaving readers to ponder the interplay between belief, science, and fate.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
First published: 1963
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Satire and science fiction
Time of plot: c. 1945-1963
Locale: Ilium, New York; Republic of San Lorenzo
Principal characters
John , the narrator, a freelance writerFelix Hoenikker , deceased codeveloper of the atomic bombAngela , his daughterFranklin andNewton , his sonsBokonon (Lionel Boyd Johnson) , a self-proclaimed holy manEarl McCabe , self-proclaimed ruler of San LorenzoMiguel “Papa” Monzano , dictator of San LorenzoMona Aamons Monzano , his adopted daughterHorlick Minton , U.S. ambassador to San LorenzoH. Lowe Crosby , an American businesspersonJulian Castle , an American millionaireAsa Breed , a former colleague of Felix Hoenikker
The Story
John, a cynical freelance writer, describes a journey that began with his attempt to write a book that he wants to call “The Day the World Ended.” John’s subject is the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II. His research leads him to Newton “Newt” Hoenikker, son of Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the bomb’s chief scientists. Newt shares memories of his father, a brilliant physicist who had seemed completely detached from humanity.
John then travels to Ilium, New York, where Hoenikker had lived and worked, and interviews Dr. Asa Breed, a fellow scientist and former colleague of Hoenikker. Breed tells him about ice-nine, a theoretical project Hoenikker reportedly had been working on near the end of his life. Originally conceived as a way to keep soldiers from having to fight in mud, ice-nine rearranges the molecules of water so that it freezes, even in extreme heat.
Though Breed insists that ice-nine remains only a theory, it turns out that it actually exists. Hoenikker had been playing with a chip of ice-nine on the day he died, and his three children divided the chip between them. John’s investigations suggest that the Hoenikker siblings, all unpopular outcasts as children, have used the precious substance to buy themselves status and companionship. Gawky Angela has acquired a handsome husband; Newt, a “midget,” had a brief liaison with Zinka, a Ukrainian dancer later revealed to be a spy; and Frank, a high school dropout whose only talent seems to be model making, becomes Major General Franklin Hoenikker, the minister of science and progress with the Republic of San Lorenzo.
Assigned to do a story about Julian Castle, a millionaire who had founded a free clinic in San Lorenzo, John flies to the island nation. On the airplane, he meets Angela and Newt Hoenikker; Horlick Minton, the US ambassador to San Lorenzo, and his wife, Claire; and H. Lowe Crosby, a bicycle manufacturer who plans to start a factory in San Lorenzo, and his wife, Hazel, who takes a liking to John because they both are Indiana Hoosiers.
John tells his story from the perspective of Bokononism, a frankly false religion invented by Lionel Boyd Johnson, a World War I veteran who, along with a US Marines deserter named Earl McCabe, had been shipwrecked on the island of San Lorenzo. McCabe had set himself up as the island’s ruler, and Johnson, known as Bokonon in island dialect, had styled himself a religious prophet. Although Bokononism is now outlawed on San Lorenzo, it is practiced by nearly everyone there, including Miguel “Papa” Monzano, the dictator who had replaced McCabe as ruler.
A central tenet of Bokononism is the formation of the karass, a group of seemingly unrelated people brought together by God to accomplish some purpose. At the center of the karass is the wampeter, the object that brings them together. John comes to believe that Felix Hoenikker’s children, as well as the Crosbys, the Mintons, and Julian Castle, are members of Felix’s karass, drawn together around the deadly wampeter called ice-nine.
Arriving on San Lorenzo, John and his companions are treated to a military display led by the aging ruler Monzano and Frank Hoenikker. Monzano is suffering from cancer, and he collapses during the greeting ceremony; he names Frank as his successor. Frank later meets in secret with John and offers him the presidency. John accepts, because he has become infatuated with beautiful Mona Aamons Monzano, the adopted daughter of Papa Monzano. A prophecy by Bokonon says that Mona will marry the next president of San Lorenzo. Mona agrees to marry John, but Frank feels they should ask for Papa Monzano’s blessing before he dies. They all go to the presidential castle. Papa, dying in agony, says it does not matter who is president of San Lorenzo. He tells John to kill Bokonon, and to put his faith in science.
John’s first day as president of San Lorenzo coincides with a national holiday, the Day of the Hundred Martyrs to Democracy, which memorializes the citizens of San Lorenzo who died during World War II. Just before the ceremony, John learns from a doctor that Papa had committed suicide by swallowing something from a vial he had worn around his neck. Papa’s body is blue-white and frozen. John realizes that the vial must have contained ice-nine, but the doctor, not knowing what had happened, unwittingly touches his own tongue to the ice from Papa’s body and immediately dies. John calls the Hoenikker children to show them the two bodies, and Frank admits he had given ice-nine to Papa to obtain a high-ranking job on San Lorenzo. John and Frank decide to conceal the truth about ice-nine and to burn the bodies after the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Ambassador Minton gives a speech about the futility of war, comparing San Lorenzo’s martyrs to murdered children. As he concludes his speech, a spectacular air show begins. One airplane crashes into the cliffs at the foot of the presidential castle, triggering a cataclysmic rockslide. Part of the castle—and Papa’s body—falls into the sea. Immediately, the sea freezes and the sky fills with deadly tornadoes. It is now, as Breed had predicted when denying the existence of ice-nine, the end of the world.
John and Mona survive by fleeing to a castle oubliette, or dungeon, that Papa had converted to a bomb shelter. When they emerge from the shelter, they find a valley filled with frozen corpses, people who had survived the first freeze and the storms only to commit suicide later by ingesting ice-nine. A note left at the scene says that the survivors had asked the holy man Bokonon what they should do, and he responded that because God is obviously trying to kill them, they should oblige and die. The note is signed by Bokonon. Mona, laughing at this absurd solution, touches the frozen ground, puts her finger to her lips, and dies.
In shock, John wanders away and is found by the Crosbys and Newt Hoenikker, who had survived, along with Frank, in a palace dungeon. John reveals that for the last six months, he had been living with a small group of survivors while writing his story. Only the ending of his story remains to be told. John feels he should climb to the top of Mt. McCabe, San Lorenzo’s highest mountain, to leave some symbol there, but he is not sure what symbol would be right.
Driving through the ruins of San Lorenzo, John sees Bokonon, wearing a hotel bedspread. Bokonon tells John that he has written the final sentence in The Books of Bokonon, a sentence that seems to prophesy John’s fate: to write a “history of human stupidity” and then climb to the top of Mt. McCabe, poison himself with ice-nine, and die thumbing his nose at an indifferent God.
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