Understanding Religion Through Kurt Vonneguts Cats Cradle Essay

Understanding Religion Through Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle The following is issued as a warning from the author Kurt Vonnegut to the reader: "Any one unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either"(14). The latter quote is typical of Vonnegut in his usage of creating a personal narrative. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born in Indianapolis, like many of his characters, in 1922. His life from that point on closely resembles the lives of the people in his satirical novel Cat's Cradle. Vonnegut's mother committed suicide when he was twenty two years old and in many of his novels the character of the mother is dead. Vonnegut's "lifelong pessimism clearly has its roots in his parents' despairing response to the depression" (Allen 2). He was captured in WWII and was present in Dresden, Germany when it was bombed and set fire to, killing 135,000 citizens. This later became the basis for Vonnegut's greatest success Slaughterhouse-Five. Cat's Cradle was published in 1963, and though it wasn't as big a success as Slaughterhouse, it became widely known as contributing to the "counter-culture" since it does in fact question and counter almost every part of our society's culture (Reed). One of the largest points of our culture brought into question in Cat's Cradle is religion. Vonnegut himself is a Humanist, meaning that he isn't sure of the existence of a God, but values life above all else. In his last novel Timequake, Vonnegut explains that he understands that humans need religion as something to turn to for comfort and suppo... ... Literature). Columbia, SC: University of SouthCarolina Press, 1991. Broer, Lawrence R., editor. Sanity Plea: Schizophrenia in the Novels of Kurt Vonnegut (revised edition). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1994 Huber, Chris. The Vonnegut Web. 14 Feb. 2002. 25 Feb. 2002 http://www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/ Klinkowitz, Jerome. Vonnegut in Fact: The Public Spokesmanship of Personal Fiction. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. Reed, Peter J. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Warner Books, 1972. Vit, Marek. Marek Vit's Kurt Vonnegut Corner. 4 Mar. 2002. 25 Feb. 2002 http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/vonn.html Vonnegut, Kurt . Cat's Cradle. 1963. New York: Dell Publishing, 1988 Vonnegut, Kurt. Mother Night. New York: Fawcett, 1962. Vonnegut, Kurt. Timequake. New York: Putnam, 1997 Understanding Religion Through Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Essay Understanding Religion Through Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle The following is issued as a warning from the author Kurt Vonnegut to the reader: "Any one unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either"(14). The latter quote is typical of Vonnegut in his usage of creating a personal narrative. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born in Indianapolis, like many of his characters, in 1922. His life from that point on closely resembles the lives of the people in his satirical novel Cat's Cradle. Vonnegut's mother committed suicide when he was twenty two years old and in many of his novels the character of the mother is dead. Vonnegut's "lifelong pessimism clearly has its roots in his parents' despairing response to the depression" (Allen 2). He was captured in WWII and was present in Dresden, Germany when it was bombed and set fire to, killing 135,000 citizens. This later became the basis for Vonnegut's greatest success Slaughterhouse-Five. Cat's Cradle was published in 1963, and though it wasn't as big a success as Slaughterhouse, it became widely known as contributing to the "counter-culture" since it does in fact question and counter almost every part of our society's culture (Reed). One of the largest points of our culture brought into question in Cat's Cradle is religion. Vonnegut himself is a Humanist, meaning that he isn't sure of the existence of a God, but values life above all else. In his last novel Timequake, Vonnegut explains that he understands that humans need religion as something to turn to for comfort and suppo... ... Literature). Columbia, SC: University of SouthCarolina Press, 1991. Broer, Lawrence R., editor. Sanity Plea: Schizophrenia in the Novels of Kurt Vonnegut (revised edition). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1994 Huber, Chris. The Vonnegut Web. 14 Feb. 2002. 25 Feb. 2002 http://www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/ Klinkowitz, Jerome. Vonnegut in Fact: The Public Spokesmanship of Personal Fiction. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. Reed, Peter J. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Warner Books, 1972. Vit, Marek. Marek Vit's Kurt Vonnegut Corner. 4 Mar. 2002. 25 Feb. 2002 http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/vonn.html Vonnegut, Kurt . Cat's Cradle. 1963. New York: Dell Publishing, 1988 Vonnegut, Kurt. Mother Night. New York: Fawcett, 1962. Vonnegut, Kurt. Timequake. New York: Putnam, 1997