Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut displays how people’s morbid curiosity is the cause of human destruction. The protagonist John, is an inquisitive writer who intends to write a book called on the father of the Atomic Bomb, Felix Hoenikker. In the process, he finds himself engulfed in the meretricious lives of the scientist's three children and a group of people on San Lorenzo. On a trip to San Lorenzo, the narrator discovers the fragile state the people in the island are left in. John details, “Five thousand or more San Lorenzans stared at us. The islanders were oatmeal colored. The people were thin. There wasn’t a fat person to be seen. Every person had teeth missing. Many legs were bowed or swollen.” (136). The island was of no value because …show more content…
Originally, ice-nine was created by Felix to solve the problem of running on mud during war. Ice-nine, a simple solution to a minor problem, proved to have the same ill-fated effect as the Atomic Bomb. Ice-nine stands as a symbol for scientist’s dying need to know more. On the same note, the novel underscores how people define science as something that improves all of humanity while using it selfishly. Papa Monzano appointed his role as President of the island to Frank Hoenikker, who then assigned the title to the narrator, John. However, because Papa did not want to keep his role as the President, he committed suicide using ice-nine. While Papa admits that science is like “a magic that works”, he uses it for his own benefit. This self- centered decision would end with ice-nine swiftly conquering the world. Similar to how scientists rely on science to find the “truth”, the people on the island use Bokononism to give them purpose in their life. Vonnegut placed both symbols to bring attention to the way humans crave to find purpose behind their