Point of View

Cat's Cradle is written in first person past tense. The narrative is told from the point of view of the protagonist, John. It never deviates from John's thoughts and perceptions. The personality, emotions and thoughts of other characters are revealed through actions and dialogue, but never directly. Throughout the novel, there are frequent asides from the narrator, who is clearly John. In particular, the narrator shares from a very early stage that this is the saga of the destruction of life on earth by the release of the secret weapon, Ice-nine. The narrator regularly reveals information that John was not privy to at the time, such as the fact that each Hoenikker brings a thermos of Ice-nine to San Lorenzo.

Setting

The novel is set primarily in Ilium, New York and in San Lorenzo, an island nation in the Caribbean. Published in 1968, the novel is set...