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The Theme Of Satire In Cat's Cradle

1080 Words5 Pages
In reading the book Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, I found the passage “In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, "Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done." And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat up, looked around, and spoke. Man blinked. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely. "Everything must have a purpose?" asked God. "Certainly," said man. "Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God. And He went away.” (265) to be not only an essential reading in the novel but also a fundamental piece of information on the topic of satire in Cat’s Cradle.

Vonnegut suggests that man can decipher the purpose of life; an idea which is all pervasive in our culture, particularly within the two major competing explanative philosophies of religion and science, through the use of humor. As a reader, you might attribute perplexity pondering over the plot and general storyline of the book. Cat 's Cradle entangles itself in changes of events of science, religion, and fantasy. If the reader were to examine the use of this passage, he would recognize that Vonnegut 's intent and purpose are not to provide a reasonable plot but to express the author 's ideas and viewpoints of the discussed topics.

As I read more into this crucial passage, I find myself relating back to
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