In Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut finds many ways to poke fun at not only Christianity, but religion altogether.
The religious satire of the religion "Bokononism," is basically a punch in the face to every religion in the world. Vonnegut creates a language for this religion with words like "karass" and "vin-dit," words that the reader will probably find humorous or just plain ridiculous. Vonnegut uses this silly language to mock religion constantly throughout the book. Just like how the reader may find the Bokonon vocabulary to be ridiculous, it is obvious that Vonnegut sees religion as ridiculous.
What makes a mockery of religion in general is the invented religion Bokononism. Vonnegut creates these ideas that aren't that outlandish from other religions in the world, but then he puts foolish words to label these ideas.
However, what leads me to believe that Vonnegut is focusing more on making a mockery of Christianity and not just religion in general, is his sporadic references to Christianity. At the intro to the novel, Vonnegut writes, "The book was to be factual... It was to be a Christian book. I was a Christian then. I am a Bokononist now" (11). In saying that the book was going to be true when he was a Christian, can come off as the book was going to be true because it was Christian.
This might come off to Christian readers as a compliament- Kurt Vonnegut is saying that being Christians tell the truth. But to the Christian reader who sits and thinks "Yeah, that's right. Christians do tell the truth," Vonnegut has just punched him in the face. Because, as most people in the world have experienced, not all Christians tell the truth. This points to the hypocrisy found in many Christian institutions around the world.
Now someone who is reading this blog post might be thinking "hypocrisy can be found in many religious institutions around the world," and you're right. However, I think Vonneguts use of the word "Christian" and not just religion as a whole is what makes me believe he is mostly mocking Chrisitanity.
When John and his karass land in San Lorenzo, the first words from Hazel Crosby's mouth are, "I'm sure glad it's a Christian country or I'd be a little scared" (96). It seems that Vonnegut placed this quote here to, again, mock Christianity.
Vonnegut succeeds tremendously in offending not only Christianity, but all religions.
I do not believe the author of the story is trying to mock religion; I intrepret that he may be almost trying to show the importance of one believing in a religion. Almost all religions are made up of some sort of story that probably aren't factual, such as stories in the bible; yet this is not to say they are not worth believing in due to their moral teaching hidden inside.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you do make a good point with the humorous language and quotes from the character!!
I agree with Moe: Vonnegut isn't mocking religion or science for that matter. I think he's just saying that too much of either is a bad thing, and that you have to find a balance. It's possible to find truth in both religion and science similtaneously.
ReplyDeleteLike Paige's earlier post, I like the comparison you make between Bokononism and Christianity. In fact, I especially like your funneling down of the religion to Christianity, by stating directly why you believe Vonnegut takes such direct aim. Be careful, however, that you don't repeat yourself unnecessarily, as the second and third paragraphs do just that. And it is the fourth paragraph that really picks up the pace nicely!
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