Cat’s Cradle is a satirical science fiction novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut. In this novel, narrator and protagonist John (calling himself Jonah) is an author whose circumstances lead him to meet the children of Felix Hoenikker, a physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb. John learns about a deadly substance called “Ice-nine” that is secretly in the possession of the Hoenikker children. While on the fictional island of San Lorenzo, John witnesses an accidental leakage of Ice-nine into the ocean which kills almost all life in a matter of days. Cat’s Cradle explores themes of free will, man’s relationship with technology, religion, and the threat of nuclear destruction.
NOTE: This Lesson Plan is based on the Kindle version of Cat’s Cradle, published November 4, 2009.
Described as "a word cartoonist, a wise guy, a true subversive," by Valerie Sayers in the New York Times, Kurt Vonnegut is lauded as one of America's most respected novelists, "recognized as a thought...
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Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (born 1922) is acknowledged as a major voice in American literature and applauded for his pungent satirical depictions of modern society. Emphasizing the comic absurdity of the huma...
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As of 1977, Vonnegut's work includes eight novels, a play and a television play, two collections of short stories, a collection of essays, and a number of uncollected shorter pieces of fiction and non...
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Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., remains something of a paradox among science-fiction writers. Although his place of importance in serious American fiction is now secure, his relationship to the genre that nurture...
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[This entry was updated by Peter J. Reed (University of Minnesota) from his entry in DLB 152: American Novelists Since World War II, Fourth Series.]Though Kurt Vonnegut had been a widely read short-st...
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Biography EssayAs of 1987 Kurt Vonnegut's work includes twelve novels, a play and a television play, two collections of short stories, two collections of essays, and a miscellany of uncollected shorte...
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"I got to be a joke-maker as the youngest member of my family. My sister was five years older than I was, my brother was nine years older, and at the dinner table I was the lowest ranking thing there....
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I think that any novel can be only so effective, because usually only the people who share, for the most part, the authors views will read it. Is that not why we read? Insert quotation here. Others re...
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Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Cat's Cradle, is a lesson in human nature that is based around the story of its narrator, John. In the book, John is trying to research Felix Hoenikker, one of the fathers ...
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Religion and science play opposing roles in the real world, although, in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, they are noticeably similar. It's human nature to be searching for the truth to life. The common pers...
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In the novel Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut uses characterization to illustrate the way for humans to be happier by accepting events that happen in their lives as they are. The novel has many examples of...
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