Humans strive daily to answer impossible questions. A hundred years ago, even the wildest dreamers had no idea how far society today would progress. We’ve discovered the tiniest parts that make up everything in the world around us, and then delved even deeper than ever expected possible. Even space, a mysterious and faraway place to century old individuals, is becoming more familiar. The one question humans have never been able to answer, however, is: what is the meaning of life? With a question so broad, it seems impossible to even know where to begin. Kurt Vonnegut, author of Cat’s Cradle, suggests that we must take responsibility for finding meaning in our own lives, and unless the significance is pronounced by oneself, it is irrelevant. Vonnegut challenges society’s preconceptions about spirituality by assigning an insignificance to religion.
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His satirical approach to something people base their lives upon often tests his readers’ faith. At the beginning, he warns that “Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either” (5-6). Through lies and stories, Bokonon spreads his religion throughout the impoverished island of San Lorenzo. Although he warns them that “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies”, the people of the island hold the views so sacred they are willing to kill themselves for the sake of their religion and the ideals that Bokonon say are important to God(5). Through the principles of Bokononism, Vonnegut demonstrates his notion that all religions are useful lies through which people find their meaning; however, he allows the reader to believe these fantasies--foma--to liberate their mind from inhibitions of a literal world. Science is used throughout the novel as an opposite approach to find meaning. The scientists at Hoenikker’s lab discovered the secret to life and human existence is “protein” (25). This unsatisfying scientific fact used to determine the basis of life intensifies the notion that anything that can be used to find meaning is important, whether it is a lie-filled religion or little molecule of “truth”. However, the authors tone when discussing the scientific meaning of life is very casual and nonchalant, leaving the reader feeling like protein is actually unimportant, and Vonnegut wants us to search deeper to find the abstract truths of our world. Hoenikker loses opportunity to form relationships with his family because he is too focused on finding the literal truths of life, demonstrating that when we refuse to believe in the deeper meaning, we become destructive. Nihilism, the refusal to believe anything in life has any inherent meaning, is a pernicious view throughout the novel. Vonnegut insists that if we are unable to find truth and meaning in our lives and be creative, we can only destroy. Nihilists are present throughout the novel; they believe although we can attempt to fill the void of human existence, there will never be a satisfying enough answer for all of society. The search for meaning will be neverending, just like a game of Cat’s Cradle. Even Bokonon slid towards nihilism in his final moments, and determined that “if [he] were a younger man [he] would make a statue of [himself]... thumbing [his] nose at You Know Who” (287). There is no meaning, no truth, “no damned cat, no damned cradle” to nihilists (166). However, Vonnegut seems to suggest that just as the string is merely a piece of rope until we decide to make it a cat’s cradle, our lives are meaningless until we ascribe a purpose to them. Besides religion and science, there are other ways characters in the novel find meaning in their lives. Mona, for example, finds meaning through relationships. She defines her life with the ability to love everyone equally because “ Bokonon tells [her] it is very wrong not to love everyone exactly the same” (209). She refuses to be with anyone who told her that loving everyone equally was impossible, or that they wanted all of her love, because her equality was paramount to her meaning in life. Through her relationships, Mona finds a purpose for her life, escaping the nihilist inevitability of failure. Not only abstract
His satirical approach to something people base their lives upon often tests his readers’ faith. At the beginning, he warns that “Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either” (5-6). Through lies and stories, Bokonon spreads his religion throughout the impoverished island of San Lorenzo. Although he warns them that “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies”, the people of the island hold the views so sacred they are willing to kill themselves for the sake of their religion and the ideals that Bokonon say are important to God(5). Through the principles of Bokononism, Vonnegut demonstrates his notion that all religions are useful lies through which people find their meaning; however, he allows the reader to believe these fantasies--foma--to liberate their mind from inhibitions of a literal world. Science is used throughout the novel as an opposite approach to find meaning. The scientists at Hoenikker’s lab discovered the secret to life and human existence is “protein” (25). This unsatisfying scientific fact used to determine the basis of life intensifies the notion that anything that can be used to find meaning is important, whether it is a lie-filled religion or little molecule of “truth”. However, the authors tone when discussing the scientific meaning of life is very casual and nonchalant, leaving the reader feeling like protein is actually unimportant, and Vonnegut wants us to search deeper to find the abstract truths of our world. Hoenikker loses opportunity to form relationships with his family because he is too focused on finding the literal truths of life, demonstrating that when we refuse to believe in the deeper meaning, we become destructive. Nihilism, the refusal to believe anything in life has any inherent meaning, is a pernicious view throughout the novel. Vonnegut insists that if we are unable to find truth and meaning in our lives and be creative, we can only destroy. Nihilists are present throughout the novel; they believe although we can attempt to fill the void of human existence, there will never be a satisfying enough answer for all of society. The search for meaning will be neverending, just like a game of Cat’s Cradle. Even Bokonon slid towards nihilism in his final moments, and determined that “if [he] were a younger man [he] would make a statue of [himself]... thumbing [his] nose at You Know Who” (287). There is no meaning, no truth, “no damned cat, no damned cradle” to nihilists (166). However, Vonnegut seems to suggest that just as the string is merely a piece of rope until we decide to make it a cat’s cradle, our lives are meaningless until we ascribe a purpose to them. Besides religion and science, there are other ways characters in the novel find meaning in their lives. Mona, for example, finds meaning through relationships. She defines her life with the ability to love everyone equally because “ Bokonon tells [her] it is very wrong not to love everyone exactly the same” (209). She refuses to be with anyone who told her that loving everyone equally was impossible, or that they wanted all of her love, because her equality was paramount to her meaning in life. Through her relationships, Mona finds a purpose for her life, escaping the nihilist inevitability of failure. Not only abstract