Context of Text | catscradle

History/Fictional History:

Most of Cat’s Cradle takes place in San Lorenzo; although the year is not known, it is clear that it is at the time of the Cold War. At the time the book was being written, people were still frightened and shocked that the atomic bomb was dropped. The nuclear bomb caused a great amount of destruction, and continued to do so, until the end of the Cold War. Kurt Vonnegut also had depressing memories of WWII, since he was detained during the war. This tragic event may have influenced how Kurt Vonnegut wrote Cat’s Cradle. After realizing the author’s historical background, the reader may sense the novel’s dark humor, and gain a better understanding of the historical context. In Cat’s Cradle there is a brief description of the history of San Lorenzo, which compares to the time the novel was being written. The people in San Lorenzo are poor and are living in a corrupt island. The Catholic Church and Juliann’s Castle sugar corporation controlled San Lorenzo. This situation improves significantly when Bokonon visits San Lorenzo.

Culture/Religious:

When Jonah visits San Lorenzo, he discovers Bokononism. He learns that Bokonon wrote fourteen books about Bokononism. Bokonon introduces his religion in San Lorenzo when the island is under control of the Catholic Church; this is why he has a bounty on his head, and every successor of San Lorenzo should be killing him. Ironically, San Lorenzo is politically Catholic, but in reality all the people their practice Bokononism. Moreover, anyone who is caught practicing Bokononism will be executed by the hook, yet no one has. One of the main aspects of Bokononism is its spiritual ritual known as boku-maru. Jonah witnesses this ritual at the hotel in San Lorenzo; he sees two people pressing the soles of their bare feet together. To begin the ritual one must love the individual and have clean feet, or it will not work. Although it seems ridiculous, everyone in San Lorenzo does it. Bokononism wants to impart the message that humans are stupid. As his last sentence in the book states, “If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who.” (127)

Bokononism Dictionary:

Busy, busy, busy – This is what Bokononists whisper whenever they think of how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is. (32)
Duffle – Is the destiny of thousands of people when placed in the hands of a stupa (12). (89)
Duprass – A karass (7) with only two people. (41)
Foma – Lies. (118)
Granfalloon – A false Karass (7) that is meaningless compared to the way God gets things done. (42)
Kan-kan – An instrument that bring an individual to his Karass (7). (1)
Karass – A team that does God’s will without discovering what they are really doing. (1)
Pool-pah – 1. Shit storm. 2. Wrath of God. (110)
Saroon – To accept the demands of vin-dit (13). (90)
Sin-wat – A man that wants all of somebody’s love. (93)
Sinookas – The tendrils of life. (4)
Stuppa – Fogbound child. (89)
Vin-dit – An unexpected personal shove towards Bokononism. (34)
Wampeter – The central point of a Karass. (24)
Wrang-wrang – “a person who steers people away from a line of speculation by reducing that line, with the example of the wrang-wrang's own life, to an absurdity.” (36)
Zah-mah-ki-bo – Fate or destiny. (82)