Examples Of Honesty In Cat's Cradle

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Is honesty the best policy even if the truth disturbs many people? Kurt Vonnegut bluntly relays his opinion on the war between science and religion and other controversial topics concerning life though his novel, Cat’s Cradle. Consequently, it was banned by the Ohio School Board in 1972 “without stating an official reason”(“Taboo Titles”). The debunking of the validity of religious and scientific beliefs, and the harsh truth embedded within his work has earned Vonnegut a spot on the controversial “Banned Books” list. He addresses the ongoing war between science and religion by blatantly stating that both are faulty. Throughout Cat’s Cradle, the author claims that religion is based on lies that people wish to believe. On the other hand, he attacks science by asserting that advanced …show more content…

People like to feel in control, so they will believe anything to make their world more stable. According to Jan-Willem van Prooijen, a psychology professor associate professor at VU University Amsterdam, “... if people feel they don 't have control over a situation, they’ll try to make sense of it and find out what happened.” People connect dots that do not connect in order to be in control of a situation. In this sense, are they really believing in anything other than themselves? Do we create our own reality? Science has concrete evidence, but religion has faith and a God that watches over and acts as an anchor in one’s life. Both science and religion have their merits which one believes in and lives by, but at the same time they both lead to pseudo security and reach for some intangible result that may never come. Similarly, the song “Cat 's in the Cradle” by Harry Chapman reflects a goal that is never reached because of selfish blindness. In this light, Vonnegut 's blunt nihilism is not something to be rejected but observed by both high school students and