Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Reading Guide
In Vonnegut's own words: (from Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons)
“Dear Reader: The title of this book is composed of three words from my novel Cat's Cradle. A wampeter
is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would
be a case in point. Foma are harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls. An example: "Prosperity
is just around the corner." A granfalloon is a proud and meaningless association of human beings. Taken
together, the words form as good an umbrella as any for this collection of some of the reviews and essays
I've written, a few of the speeches I made.”
Introductory Information….
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Structure/style: postmodern stream of consciousness (note number of chapters)
Genres: satire, science fiction, dystopia
Setting: the future (but not distant)
Narration: first person flashback
Background: Having turned down his original thesis, in 1971 the University of Chicago awarded Vonnegut his
Master's degree in anthropology for Cat's Cradle. The novel was first published in 1963 as Ice Nine in some
territories.
As you read….Take margin notes that are mindful of the following topics and motifs of interest:
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The objects of Vonnegut’s satire. Is there balance to his critique?
Historical models for certain characters and events.
The characteristics of the fictional religion Bokononism. It is defined in bits and dribbles. Try to
develop a collective sense of it by marking key passages along the way. Annotating key
terminology is a GREAT idea (inside cover of novel?).
Title references: the title of the book derives from the string game "cat's cradle." Watch for
appearances of the phrase and its symbolic import.
Trivia
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In an episode of the television show Alias, agents are sent to recover a sample of a substance known as "Ice
Five," which shares many similarities with Vonnegut's ice-nine. Rip-off!
In the film The Recruit, Colin Farrell is tasked with stealing a computer virus developed by the CIA called
ICE-9, which would crash every computer and server connected to the Internet (in essence, a digital form of
the ice-nine substance).
The Grateful Dead's publishing company is Ice Nine Publishing.
A Boku is a type of drum played in Cuba and some parts of Africa
On the Joe Satriani album, Surfing with the Alien, there is a track entitled Ice 9
The book was adapted into script form by Richard Kelly, the writer and director of Donnie Darko. A film
adaptation of "Cat's Cradle" is expected in 2007 (???), supposedly starring Leonardo DiCaprio.