Cat’s Cradle 3 Essay, Research Paper

Cat’s Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut

Jonah, a young writer, decides to write a novel about the father of the nuclear bomb, Felix Hoenikker, and his family. As Jonah begins to uncover the many secrets of the family, he travels to San Lorenzo, the home of Frank Hoenikker. At this point, Jonah discovers the existence of a substance called ice-nine, a special water crystal that freezes at about one-hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit. This crystal would change the way all the water on earth crystallized, ultimately destroying everything.

Felix Hoenikker had developed the crystal and Frank had a piece after his father’s death. He used the crystal to buy a job from the president of San Lorenzo. Tragically, as the president, ‘Papa,’ neared death, he consumed a piece of the ice and instantly froze. Jonah and Frank found him, but they had no time to melt him as a special national ceremony was about to take place and they were to lead it.

As the ceremony progressed, a plane from the ceremony malfunctioned and crashed into the castle where ‘Papa’s’ body lay. ‘Papa’s’ frozen body slid into the ocean, which instantly froze solid. Although there were survivors, nobody was able to reproduce and Vonnegut blatantly revealed the tragic fate of all of humankind.