Monday, July 30, 2012
Ignorance is Bliss?
When I first started reading Cat’s Cradle, I felt as though Kurt Vonnegut’s exploitation of the
human characteristic of ignorance seemed excessive and hyperbolized. Now, after having reached the second third of
my reading, my view has changed—Vonnegut’s satire provides worthwhile insight
into human nature. Angela Hoenikker, the
daughter of the infamous Dr. Felix Hoenikker, acts as one such source of
valuable insight. Even though Felix acted
as a completely unfit parent and built weapons of mass destruction, Angela
continued to regard him as a gallant saint. In order to deal with the absence
of a paternal figure in her childhood, Angela tried to deceive herself into
thinking her father deserves reverence, respect, and love. Considering the day the atomic bomb hit Japan
a “regular day”, Angela subconsciously attempted to ignore the death and
violence her father wrought onto the world (112). Vonnegut indirectly characterizes Angela as
unmindful to underscore her conviction to forget the dark moments of her
childhood and to form an illusion that portrayed her father as a hero. Ironically, in her pursuit to religiously
idolize her father, Angela follows his precedent by practicing reckless
irresponsibility. With her “Thermos jugs”
in stow wherever she goes, Angela foolishly risks the security of the entire
globe by carrying a very hazardous compound created by her father, “ice-nine”
(192, 111). This substance, the
ultimate legacy of Felix, possesses the potential to completely freeze the
earth’s water supply and in turn eradicate all forms of life. Entangled in a false reality, whilst
transporting the means to desiccate the planet—Angela serves as a synecdoche
for the danger of delusion. While trying
to satisfy the simple desire of escaping her “bleak life” and attaining
acceptance, the lonely and confused Angela constructs a web of lies to appease
her insecurities (180). And like so many
characters in Cat’s Cradle, by blinding
herself with abundant fabrications, Angela inadvertently employs the philosophy
of Bokononism, the primary religion of the novel that acts as a symbol for
artificial hope. Concerning human
nature’s inclination towards falsities and dreams, I find it appropriate to
state a tenet of mankind seen throughout history: Humans believe what they want to
believe. A dream may indeed lack
personal truths, but it offers an escape from feeling any emotion intensely. Apathy beats pain, suffering, and dismal
happiness any day.
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I, too, had moments where I felt Vonnegut over-exaggerated; however, those moments allowed me to examine my own life and the lives of others in order to realize that his apparent hyperboles often hold true. Also, I particularly enjoyed how the novelist's portrayal of the protagonist, John, did not differ from the ignorance shown through characters such as Angela. I concur with your opinions expressed above, and believe Vonnegut's discussion of disillusionment allows for valuable insight into our own psyches.
ReplyDeleteI found amusement in other characters' ignorance, most notably Julian Castle, who appeared convinced that everything in the world has no meaning. Castle went to the extent of saying people never have anything meaningful to say too. His stubborn nature made me angry at first glance, but then encouraged me to prove his philosophy wrong and find legitimately meaningful things in the world. I suppose that may have been the purpose to Castle's ignorance-- to uncover the meaningful things the world has to offer.
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