The Color of Many Faces

I believe that the color blue fits perfectly with Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.  Yes, the fact that the paperback book cover has a tinted turquoise exterior contributes to the selection of blue. And  yes, the fact that the scenery in the book features such blue items as a large “lukewarm sea” and piles of “blue-white …ice-nine” helps as well (259, 238).   But mainly, blue fits with Cat’s Cradle because of the omnipotence of the sentiments of calm and gloom in the book.  Unlike other colors, blue does not have a uniform meaning—it bears some contradictory characteristics.  Some might define blue as a hue of security and protection that provides a soothing aura.  Others perceive blue as a manifestation of loneliness and depression, a shade that can give impetus to great sadness.   Obviously, blue must have a personality disorder, as it oscillates between states of peace and melancholy.  This volatility has a high compatibility with Cat’s Cradle, a novel that chronicles the madness of modern man.  Near the conclusion of the plot, the depressing aspect of blue expresses itself significantly.  After having witnessed the demolition of the planet, Jonah, the narrator, stumbles upon a pit located on the side of Mount McCabe.  Inside the natural geographic bowl, Jonah discerns an immense funeral ground, with “thousands upon thousands of dead” lying strewn about (272).  All of the corpses died from the poisonous ice-nine—a morbid orchestra of mass-suicide.  Vonnegut weaves pathos by invoking an emotion of deep sadness from those who have lost close relatives and friends.  Amidst the chaos of natural disasters and societal degradation, Jonah sees his world literally fall apart in front of his eyes, supporting Vonnegut’s assertion that emptiness occurs after great tragedy.  A myriad of deep blues radiate from this scene: the blue of despair; the blue of defeat, the blue of the unknown.  To alleviate such negative feelings, a lighter, more docile blue emerges from Bokononism, the key religion in Cat’s Cradle that uses “foma” to make people more optimistic (265).  Bokononists believe that man arose from the earth organically.  They use a metaphor of mud to show how God shapes and invigorates matter.  After living a full life, “the mud…goes to sleep” to meet a peaceful eternity (222).   Combating human atrocities with a serene philosophy, humans on Vonnegut’s earth manage to maintain a delicate balance between misery and placidity.  Blue adapts and changes, like water and the sky.  The blue of Cat’s Cradle leaves me content, but morose.  However, as mentioned, that lingering ambivalence should not seem out of the blue.