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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator tell the reader to call him in Chapter 1?

2. What college is Newt Hoenikker attending when the narrator writes to him in Chapter 4?

3. How many siblings does Bokonon have?

4. What is the married name of Newt's sister, as revealed in his letter in Chapter 5?

5. How old is Frank Hoenikker when John finds his picture in the newspaper supplement in Chapter 37?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is significant about Frank's action of staging bug fights in Chapter 6?

2. What statement do you think that Vonnegut is making in regards to politics and science in Cat's Cradle?

3. How does Newt Hoenikker describe his interaction with his father on the day the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima?

4. What is ironic about the scientific work done for the military at the General Forge and Foundry Company?

5. What statements does the author make about nihilism in Chapter 36?

6. What is the significance of the literary/religious allusion in the opening of Chapter 1?

7. What irony is revealed in Dr. Breed's assessments of Ilium's history in Chapter 13?

8. Describe the narrative style of Cat's Cradle. Why do you think the author employs this style?

9. How is Dr. Felix Hoenikker's personality described in Cat's Cradle?

10. How does the narrator describe San Lorenzo's attempt at communism in the narrative?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the correlations between Ice-nine and weapons of mass destruction in our contemporary world. How would you compare the destructiveness of Ice-nine to the atomic bomb? What statements do you think that Vonnegut is making with Ice-nine regarding atomic warfare?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the concept of nihilism as explored in the novel. How does Vonnegut satirize nihilism in the narrative? What characters represent nihilism? What becomes of these characters?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the genre of satire as it applies to Cat's Cradle. What aspects of the novel are satirical? What aspects of culture, society, etc. are satirized by Vonnegut? What do you think Vonnegut's overall statement is regarding humankind?

(see the answer keys)

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