Cat’s Cradle

Cat’s Cradle

by

Kurt Vonnegut

Cat’s Cradle: Chapter 127 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
John goes to talk to Bokonon, who is sitting barefoot on a rock, his feet “frosty with ice-nine.” John asks what Bokonon is thinking; he replies that he is searching for the “final sentence” for The Books of Bokonon. John asks what he’s come up with.
Bokonon, in a way, is the book’s authority. But throughout his writings he consistently denies his own authority, thereby making this a world without any true authority. By implication, the real world is the same. Furthermore, with nobody left to believe in Bokonon, it is absurd that he is even working on the last pages of his scripture.
Themes
Religion Theme Icon
Absurdity and Meaninglessness Theme Icon
Bokonon, shrugging, hands John a piece of paper. It reads: “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 I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison … and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who.”
Bokonon is given the last words of the actual book that the reader is holding, thus making Cat’s Cradle conclude in the same way as The Books of Bokonon. The statement of humanity’s stupidity, then, is the concluding note of Vonnegut’s book too.
Themes
Science and Morality Theme Icon
Religion Theme Icon
Absurdity and Meaninglessness Theme Icon
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