Over the span of time humans have inhabited the Earth, we have constantly innovated to come up with new solutions to issues that we have come across. Technology can be a wonderful thing, but it begs the question: just because science is able to create something, should it? Some of the inventions that started out being created for the sake of knowledge or innovation are capable of being used for nefarious purposes A prime example of this is the ability to split atoms apart, the process by which the atom bomb was created. A major theme in the book Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is that the things that science can create to help us now may end up being our downfall if we lose our morality.
In this book, the invention that Vonnegut uses as an example of an invention used for the wrong purposes is ice nine, which eventually turns the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland by freezing all the water on earth. It’s original purpose was to stop soldiers from getting stuck in the mud.
While Cat’s Cradle provides messages on how science can be harmful if one loses their ethical values, it also looks at the origin of those values. Vonnegut uses two different …show more content…
Vonnegut uses the game called cat’s cradle to symbolise humanity’s morals. Cat’s Cradle is a game that has been found in many of the major civilizations found around the world, but the origin of the game itself is unclear. “ ‘Rockabye catsy in the tree top’; he sang, ‘when the wind blows the cray-dull will rock. If the bough breaks, the cray-dull will fall. Down will come cray-dull, catsy and all” (12). In this quote, the cat represents humanity, and the cradle is the world. When something rocks the foundation that society stands on, such as a war, they may be prepared to use their knowledge of science to try and fix the problem, thus breaking the bough and condemning the
In this book, the invention that Vonnegut uses as an example of an invention used for the wrong purposes is ice nine, which eventually turns the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland by freezing all the water on earth. It’s original purpose was to stop soldiers from getting stuck in the mud.
While Cat’s Cradle provides messages on how science can be harmful if one loses their ethical values, it also looks at the origin of those values. Vonnegut uses two different …show more content…
Vonnegut uses the game called cat’s cradle to symbolise humanity’s morals. Cat’s Cradle is a game that has been found in many of the major civilizations found around the world, but the origin of the game itself is unclear. “ ‘Rockabye catsy in the tree top’; he sang, ‘when the wind blows the cray-dull will rock. If the bough breaks, the cray-dull will fall. Down will come cray-dull, catsy and all” (12). In this quote, the cat represents humanity, and the cradle is the world. When something rocks the foundation that society stands on, such as a war, they may be prepared to use their knowledge of science to try and fix the problem, thus breaking the bough and condemning the