"No Damn Cat, No Damn Cradle"

Cat’s Cradle is one of the most implicitly complex books I’ve ever read. In the novel, similarly to the game of cat’s cradle, we are made to believe the illusions that are put in front of us, just like when we tell ourselves that we definitely see a cat’s cradle in the mess of string wrapped in our fingers. We know that it isn't true, but we continue to go along with it in order to make the most of the experience. This is especially prevalent in this book, simply because the characters are experiencing the same conscious trickery that we are, just in a different way. They convince themselves that they believe Bokononism and the hook punishment that goes along with the disbelief of it. They do this because being aware of the presence of the illusions will eventually lead to the truth, whatever that truth may be. As the readers, we do the same thing for every fiction novel we read. We know that the story is far from true, but we dive into it and begin to believe every word so that we can get something out of it.