Bugs in a Jar
Anthony Boyer

     "I've  narrowed comedy  down  to  two words:  clown and
farts. Because first  it makes you laugh, and  then it makes
you  think." Dave  Attell's joke  comes remarkably  close to
describing exactly what it is  that Kurt Vonnegut is able to
do with his writing. First,  he makes his readers laugh, and
then  he forces  them to  think. By  employing such humorous
devices as irony and satire, Vonnegut is able to bring humor
to a less-than-humorous subject.
     Cat's  Cradle is  Vonnegut's  novel  about the  day the
world ended. Why, then, is it so full of jokes? By making it
so, Vonnegut  makes it easier  for himself to  get his point
across.  Rather  than  making  the  book  a  crusade against
science or religion, he instead creates a light-hearted look
at people  themselves. By seeing the  characters in the book
and  laughing at  them, he  is forcing  us also  to laugh at
ourselves.
     By openly criticizing one religion or another, Vonnegut
feared  he  would  have  alienated  a  potential audience or
created  some discomfort.  Rather than  offend anyone,  then
- or perhaps rather to offend  everyone  equally - he instead
created  Bokononism,  using  aspects  of  all religions, and
exaggerating them  to the point of  absurdity. Though we may
laugh at the  Bokononists, at the same time  we realize that
there  are  certain  truths  in  the  creed. In this manner,
Vonnegut gets his audience to think about themselves and the
follies of their own religions.
     Another  important part  of  the  book is  the constant
"tirade" against  science. Jonah's writing  makes it evident
that  he  finds  all  scientists  to  be  cruel,  cold,  and
unfeeling. At the same  time, Vonnegut paints the scientists
in  a humorous  light by  employing such  techniques as  Dr.
Breed's  scolding  of  Miss   Faust,  in  which  he  proudly
proclaims how  long it's been  since a fatal  accident. But,
beyond the surface, Vonnegut is  more cruel in his treatment
of artists.  Jonah is himself  a joke. A  narrator that lies
outright, puts  an editorial slant on  the truth, and claims
to put faith into a religion based upon admitted lies, he is
ironic in  and of himself.  Also, anytime that  an artist in
the book is  placed in charge of something,  it gets ruined,
examples  being  Jonah's  apartment  and  San  Lorenzo (and,
subsequently, the world.)
     The main thrust of Vonnegut's  humor seems to be toward
the  idea of  fate. As  a writer,  he has  been in charge of
determining the fates for literally thousands of characters,
and seems to have the  idea in perspective. From the opening
line, "Call me  Jonah," to the end of  the book when Bokonon
tells  Jonah to  make a  gesture to  the gods, Vonnegut uses
Herman Melville's Moby Dick as  a symbol of fate. Every time
the  subjec of  fate is  broached, especially  with the Moby
Dick references,  it is a joke.  In fact, one of  the book's
funniest scenes (at least as  far as low humor is concerned)
is Jonah's  discovery of Mrs. Hoenikker's  grave. That scene
was probably  also the single most  cruel stab at Melville's
masterpiece and  the ideas it  represented. Vonnegut was  in
this way trying to tell his readers that fate is foolish and
to put any belief into it would be absurd.
     By   creating  entirely   fictitious  governments   and
religions,  Vonnegut  is  able  to  safely  make  fun of the
systems that all mankind takes seriously. In his own way, he
is  forcing his  readers into  a glass  jar and  making them
fight  their  own  method  of  thinking,  much  the same way
Franklin Hoenniker  did with his insects.  By looking at the
characters in  Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut's audience  is able to
laugh. Then, by looking at the hidden meanings and wondering
why they laughed, they are able to think.

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Last modified: April , 2002