At the end of Cat’s Cradle, most of the survivors on the island of San Lorenzo
climb up to the upper reaches of Mount McCabe and poison themselves with
ice-nine, as instructed by Bokonon himself. This stunning climax is the result
of Bokononism’s central tenet: “ Live by the foma that make you brave and kind
and healthy and happy.” This seemingly innocuous idea that is mentioned
throughout the text, eventually compels the followers of Bokononism to
participate in a mass suicide.
Cat’s
Cradle begins with the central tenet of Bokononism, foreshadowing what is
to be a major theme throughout the novel. The people of San Lorenzo are all
secret Bokononists, and almost all live in terrible poverty and squalor.
Bokononism is their sole source of hope, and the ritual of “Boko-maru” is their
main source of pleasure. Living by these “harmless” untruths blinds the
Bokonists to their horrific reality.
Through these ideas, Vonnegut supports
the idea that religion is an “opiate of the masses,” a method to placate and
control a population. Bokonon himself states that “he would never take his own
advice, because he knew it would be worthless” (Vonnegut 273.) Bokonon tells
his followers that God was trying to kill them, and that they should have “the
good manners to die.” Here Bokononism transforms from simply an escape from
reality to something serious and deadly. With this ending Vonnegut is making a
statement about religion in general, and a warning to those who choose to
follow it. Bokonon, representing religion itself, is a manipulator of the
masses.
Also, here’s a cool song about ice-nine for anyone who
cares: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyVWQH7jIg8
Just going off your point about Bokononism and the religion. There was an interesting statement that was said in the book. It was something on the lines of "all types of religion are false." That each one is telling a lie to the believer. As you said religion itself is manipulative, and its followers will believe and do whatever is expected of them to do if asked by God. The way Vonnegut uses Bokononism within the book and its ways of practice are an interesting way of showing the reality of what someone could actually be thinking.
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