Vonnegut's Own Game of Cat's Cradle

Vonnegut carefully chose to add a pretext to this novel in an attempt to catch our eyes before we are even given a chance to begin reading: “Nothing in this book is true.” A pretext, by definition, is a reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason. So before the narrative even begins, we are faced with a statement intended to be misleading. Vonnegut has already hinted at the core of his novel: we must use ridiculousness to create a shelter from reality. He tells us to live by harmless untruths, convincing us that there exists a disguise that is blurring the line between truth and lies. This falsehood indicates that this novel is essentially all a game; is Vonnegut drawing us into his own game of cat’s cradle?

The cat’s cradle serves as a symbol for the novel’s exploration of both truth and lies. Some characters tell themselves lies to create a false reality of happiness, similar to the way a child is able to envision the cat and the cradle to enjoy the game. Others see reality clearly, just as some see the X’s the string makes because that’s simply the truth of the matter. So, just as the game of cat’s cradle, this novel is seemingly a lie. We are told that from the beginning. Vonnegut wants us to know that the story he has created is simply words he put together that are intended to mean something. But what determines whether or not it is composed of lies? Being a fictional novel, we are already aware that the events are made up. So why does Vonnegut add the pretext? He is reeling us into a game and manipulating us to decide whether he has simply written a bunch of lies, or if there is a truthful meaning within the pages. While reading this novel we must question ourselves: can we accept the lies as truth, or even just find the truth among the lies, or should we simply dismiss the work as a piece of fiction?