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Cat's Cradle Analysis

566 Words3 Pages

Kurt Vonnegut is a highly respected author who is known for being one of the foremost satirists of all time. Vonnegut satirizes many institutions in Cat’s Cradle. Institutions that structure our society and humanity, this including; science, religion, politics, the purpose of humanity, the nature of truth and all of the other lies that make up people’s lives. But, science and religion are the two most satirized institutions by Vonnegut in Cat’s Cradle. I believe the reason why science and religion are so focused on is because these are two things that are very different from eachother. In Cat’s Cradle science is a form of truth and religion is a form of lies. His humor is used in many ways to show the dangers of combining human stupidity and uninterest with humanity’s technological capacity for destruction.
Vonnegut satirizes science in Cat’s Cradle by showing it as a rival with religion, truth and knowledge. An example of this is when Dr.Asa Breed whom was Felix Hoenikker’s supervisor at the research laboratory states “Nothing generous about it. New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.” (Vonnegut 41) this contradicts the religion of Bokonon because the …show more content…

He said “They threw out the priests. And then Bokonon, cynically and playfully, invented a new religion.” (Vonnegut 172) Castle also said “Well, when it became evident that no governmental or economic reform was going to make the people much less miserable, the religion became the one real instrument of hope. Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible. so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies.” (Vonnegut

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