Cat's Cradle
The world is about to end, and nobody knows it. Summed up into one sentence, this is the basis of the book Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. This is book is a satire on the state of affairs in the 1960's. At the beginning of the novel, the narrator researches a book he is in the midst of writing. The book is to be about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the lives of the people who created the bomb. The narrator gets involved in events helplessly beyond his control, but which unavoidably lead to the destiny of all of mankind, the destruction of the entire earth. Throughout the story, Vonnegut builds up his theme of the pointlessness of life with the help of satire.
The narrator, a writer, working on a book about the atomic bomb and its creators, goes to Ilium, New York to learn more about Dr.
Felix Hoenikker, one of the fathers of the first atomic bomb. After thoroughly researching the illustrious doctor, the narrator learns about one of the late doctor's concepts, Ice-nine, in which changing the way water freezes can change how every single ice crystal structure forms. However, an esteemed scientist who knew Dr. Hoenikker tells the narrator that the old man's theory is impractical, and should be disregarded. As time passes, the narrator abandons the idea of writing his book, instead he embarks on writing a piece for a newspaper on the subject of The Republic of San Lorenzo, a unproductive island somewhere near the Caribbean. In order to write his article, he travels to the island; on the way there, the narrator happens to meet two of the three children of Dr. Felix Hoenikker. The children, Newt and Angela, who are both adults now, are...
Decent
Though your thesis is very strong, it is not supported in your paper. In your thesis statement you refer to the satire that is utilized by Vonnegut to convey his theme, yet your paper makes little reference to this satire. Overall well written, but contains to much summarization and not enough commentary.
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