about his experience, but was unable to do so for more than twenty years. He wanted to simply describe what happened through a narrative, but it never worked. The novel is a response to war. "It is so short and jumbled and jangled," says Vonnegut, "because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre."2 It’s easy to see how Vonnegut’s war time experience had an influence on Slaughterhouse-Five but, his knowledge of war also had some influence on Cat’s Cradle. Cat’s Cradle displays Vonnegut’s concern for technology and the belief that it will one day lead to the destruction of our society and our world. Many of his own beliefs come out through the narrator in the story, John.Published in the wake of the Cold War, Cat’s Cradle tells about man’s ability of destroying life on earth. The narrator is trying to write a book entitled The Day the Earth Ended about the Hiroshima bombing.He researches the life of Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the inventors of the atomic bomb. The Hoenikker family closely resembles Vonnegut’s own family. Both have a son who is a scientist, a tall middle daughter, and a younger son.In Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut concocts a new religion called Bokononism for the people of San Lorenzo. Bokononism’s purpose is to “provide people with better and better lies.”3 However the basis of this religion, The Books of Bokonon, explain upfront that it is false. In fact the first line in them is “Don’t be a fool! Close this book at once! It is nothing but foma!”As you can see many of Vonnegut’s writings stem from his experiences of war and destruction, and his concern for society itself....
