Cat's Cradle

          The parallel between the nothingness and redundancy of the cat's cradle and the tale of Jonah is a rather obvious discussion. However, the importance of the child's game through the eyes of Felix Hoenikker is a completely unique tale. The one important detail about Dr. Hoenikker is that he seemed to have an excess need for children's play things. In his office he had spinning top things and turtles and of course; the piece of string needed for a cat's cradle. At first I simply viewed this his means to pass time and to break up the monotony of working in a large corporate laboratory. However, as I really began to think about it, wasn't he merely using these toys as a means of escape? I mean how long can a person work on such as project a the atom bomb without stopping to think of the devastation that this bomb will cause. With all the stress and anxiety that surrounded the development and production of the A-bomb, Dr. Hoenikker simply needed a way to escape from it all and reclaim the innocence of his youth.

           I find this to be very evident in life as well. As people grow older and their days become more droll and boring, they feel a need to capture the simplicity of childhood. If I learned anything from this book, it's that childhood (pre-adulthood) is a unique and short period of time that needs not be wasted in trying to "grow up" too fast. But rather, it should be enjoyed and used as a place to which one can escape and go back to when life becomes too taxing. I believe that the story of Dr. Felix Hoenikker sums it up best in reclaiming his child-like innocence through the simplicity of play.