Vonnegut’s Simplicity in Cat's Cradle
Steve Lustbader

     The simple  style with which Kurt  Vonnegut, Jr. writes
his   novels  belies   the  complexity   hidden  behind  his
sentences.  Vonnegut’s novels,  as a  result, are  amazingly
easy  and,  to  many,  enjoyable  to  read, yet they contain
messages that go to the very root of humanity, messages that
are  not hidden  underneath  flowery  prose. The  success of
Cat's  Cradle,  like  all  of  his  novels,  relies  on this
simplicity to reveal its messages about religion, death, and
apocalypse to the reader.
     Cat's  Cradle is  composed of  a series  of short, very
direct, and seemingly simple sentences, that, when combined,
form a  surprisingly complex novel. Cat's  Cradle, like most
of  Vonnegut’s  novels,  is  not  very  wordy. Vonnegut will
almost  always  say  things   directly;  for  example,  when
discussing   the  history   of  San   Lorenzo,  he   writes,
"Subsequent  expeditions  came  for  gold…found none, burned
a few natives  for entertainment and heresy,  and sailed on"
(89). Vonnegut  uses a very direct  and flippant manner when
he writes of things that  others might not confront, such as
the cruelty  of the conquistadors.  He does not  try to hide
his messages subtly, so his readers get the full meaning out
of his novel,  even if they are reading  the book merely for
entertainment. One does not have to search through his novel
word-for-word to  find Vonnegut’s themes.  Instead, Vonnegut
sends  his  themes  via  simplicity  and  exaggeration.  For
Vonnegut to convey his ideas  successfully to the reader, he
must use a simple  style to do s o; his point  of view is so
contrary to the norm that simplicity is the only way for him
to  get his  point of  view to  his readers.  Otherwise, the
reader cannot possibly accept Vonnegut’s radical views. This
style of his  writing pulls his message out  of the text and
into the readers’ minds.
     In    addition,   Vonnegut    pairs   simplicity   with
science-fiction,  which some  say detracts  from his novels.
This style is very noticeable in Slaughterhouse–Five, but it
does  not take  away from  the strength  of the  messages of
Slaughterhouse–Five or  those of Cat's  Cradle. Cat's Cradle
is  not  as  fantastic  as  Slaughterhouse–Five,  but  it is
centered on a fictional substance that makes water freeze at
high temperatures,  which is beyond  realistic fiction. Just
like  simplicity,   science  fiction  makes   Vonnegut’s  vi
ew-point easier for the reader to understand. In a realistic
world, the traditional values of society will be the easiest
to find in  the novel. Going beyond normal  pulls the reader
out of real  life, where other ideas and  points of view are
brought  into  the  forefront.  Many  readers  may  not like
science-fiction,  but  it  not  only  makes  his novels more
enjoyable than dryer novels, such  as Catcher in the Rye, it
gets his points across better than total realism allows him.
     One of the ideas the simplicity of Cat's Cradle conveys
is  the true  meaninglessness of  life. He  begins with  the
title  of the  novel;  Cat's  Cradle is  appropriately named
after  a meaningless  children’s game  that involves  making
a series of X’s with a  string. Newt Hoenikker describes the
game  briefly by  saying "No  damn cat,  and no damn Cradle"
(114);  in essence,  the game,  and life  itself, is  really
meaningless.  Julian Castle,  the living  saint, is  able to
prove that some things are not meaningless, such as the laws
of gravity, when he throws  little Newt’s painting about the
meaningless of  life down a  waterfall. This meaninglessness
of  life is  what eventually  draws Lionel  Boyd Johnson  to
found a new religion called Bokononism.
     Bokononism, the fictional San Lorenzan religion, serves
two  functions  in  the  novel,  both  of  which  stem  from
Vonnegut’s  simplicity. First  is  a  way of  addressing the
meaninglessness of life, which is what many religions try to
do in  their own way and  with their own levels  of success.
Second  Vonnegut’s  way  of  mocking  the  world’s religions
through  his own  religion that  is quite  unusual. Vonnegut
writes  Cat's Cradle  in a   style similar  to The  Books of
Bokonon the Bokononist bible.  He includes several pass ages
from the Books of Bokonon throughout the novel, such as this
one  from the  Calypsos describing  Bokonon’s motives behind
Bokononism:

           I wanted all things
           To seem to make some sense,
           So we all could be happy, yes,
           Instead of tense.
           And I made up lies
           So that they all fit nice,
           And I made this sad world
           A par-a-dise. (90)

     Bokonon realizes that life has  no meaning, but he also
realizes that  he can make  people happy just  by pretending
life has a purpose. These  harmless untruths, or foma, allow
people  to enjoy  their  truly  meaningless life.  Like most
religions,  Bokononism is  based on  lies, but  unlike those
religions,  it uses  those lies  to make  people happy.  The
first sentence of  The Books of Bokonon is  "All of the true
things I am about to tell  you are shameless lies," (14) and
the narrator warns the reader, "Anyone unab le to understand
how  a  useful  religion  can  be  founded  on lies will not
understand this  book either" (14).  This book is  a part of
Bokononism, so  anyone that does  not understand the  theory
behind Bokononism cannot understand  this novel. Knowing the
basis  of  Bokononism  is  foma,  the  Bokononist narrator’s
reliability can be questioned, but the narrator’s background
as  a  journalist  restores  his  credibility.  This made-up
religion is  a satirical look at  religion in general. Using
Bokonon’s   simple  Calypsos,   Vonnegut  mocks  established
religions  by creating  a  false  religion that  exposes the
major  weakness in  most religions,  which is  that they are
based on lies that are passed off as truth.
     In  addition to  religion, Cat's  Cradle confronts,  in
a simple manner, man’s destructive nature in the destruction
of  the  world.  This  theme  is  one  that pervades many of
Vonnegut’s novels. In  his anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse-5,
Billy Pilgrim asks the Tralfamadorians if they are afraid of
humans because  humans are so destructive.  In Cat's Cradle,
the destruction of  the world is caused by  a substance that
is developed  to make water freeze  at a higher temperature.
Felix Hoenikker develops this substance because the military
wanted  an easier  way to  traverse swamps.  Ironically, the
chemical  the   military  wants  is  the   same  thing  that
eventually  wipes  out  all  the  armies everywhere, because
ice-nine would  cause all water  it came in  contact with to
freeze, so one tiny molecule  has the ability to destroy the
world.  While this  occurrence is  an exaggeration,  a prior
invention of  Hoenikker’s inventions does have  the power to
destroy the world: the  atomic bomb. Vonnegut’s exaggeration
makes his point  clear: if  man cannot destroy the world one
way, he will continue trying,  because it is human nature to
risk destroying the world to further one’s own ends.
     Cat's Cradle depends on Vonnegut’s simplicity and other
literary techniques,  like exaggeration, to  make its point.
Man’s  destructive  nature  is  made  quite  clear  in  this
excellent novel,  and unnecessary words  and sentences would
have  destroyed  the  clarity  of  Vonnegut’s  message.  The
message,  and  the  readability   of  the  novel,  are  more
important than if the novel  is of the same literary caliber
as the likes of Shakespeare and Hemingway. Vonnegut’s simple
sentences, combined  with exaggeration, irony,  and elements
of  science  fiction,  make  his  novels,  and  the messages
contained within them, very  powerful, and very enjoyable to
read.  In  this  way,  Kurt  Vonnegut,  Jr.  has established
himself as a literary master.

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