In Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle, the constant thing that is being said is the religion Bokonon. It is established from the beginning that it is all based on lies, but the whole city of San Lorenzo worship it and follow what it says, even though it is forbidden and you will get the “hook” if you do. “Nothing in this book is true.” These were the first words given in the prologue. Immediately after this, the main character says, “Call me Jonah. My parents did, or nearly did. They called me John.” Jonah began to collect things for a book he was going to write called The Day the World Ended. It was going to be about what Americans did on that very exact day the first atomic bomb was deployed on Hiroshima, Japan. This book will never be completed. This book was meant to be a Christian book, but Jonah is now a Bokononist. If someone would’ve told him about the “bittersweet lies” the book told, he would’ve became a Bokononist from the very beginning. Bokononists believe that civilization is shaped into groups that do God’s work without ever knowing what they’re doing.
A karass is what they call themselves. “All the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.” The warning in this is any person who can not comprehend how a useful religion can be based on lies then you will not understand the point to this book. So be it.
Jonah’s karass includes the three children of Dr. Felix Hoenikker. Who is known as the “father” of the first atomic bomb. Jonah wrote a letter to the youngest of Dr. Hoenikkers children, Newton.
Newton wrote back to him and explained that he was still a mere child who didn’t know at the time what was going on. But he told him that on the day of the first atomic bomb his father was still in his robe playing with a string, which a prisoner had sent him with a novel. His father came out of his study and did something he had never done before. He played with Newton. He waved the string that was formed like a triangle in Newton’s face and showed him the Cat’s Cradle. Being so close to little Newton’s face, he frightened him half to death. Little Newton ran as fast as he could while crying.
Dr. Hoenikker tested the bomb with some other scientists out at Alamogordo. It was said that America could wipe out an entire city with just this one bomb. A scientist then turned to Hoenikker and said to him, “Science has now known sin.” Hoenikker turned to him and said, “What is sin?”
Jonah went to get more information for his book and Dr. Hoenikker, he then went to see Dr. Breed, a former co worker of Hoenikker. Jonah wanted to know more about a creation Dr. Hoenikker was working on and supposedly never finished it. It was known as ice-nine. This creation could freeze everything it touched. If you touched the substance and then your mouth, you would too freeze.
Ice-nine wasn’t existable to Dr. Breed but it was on Earth. Dr. Hoenikker put ice-nine into a bottle which was inside his pocket. Jonah travels to San Lorenzo in search of Frank, Dr. Hoenikkers other son. “Papa” Monzano, the ambassador of this city, wants Frank to become the next ruler. This gives Frank a panic and he asks Jonah to be the next ruler. Jonah accepts, he also get’s Jonah’s wife, which he has been fond of since he first laid eyes on her in a magazine she was on the cover of. “Papa” Monzano kills himself with ice-nine. He is the first to. Dr. Von Koenigswald was the second. An airplane crashes into the castle by the water where the bodies of “Papa” Monzano and Dr. Von Koenigswald were. They both dropped into the water. Ice-nine has now touched the oceans. The earth is covered in white. Jonah and Mona, his was soon to be wife, took shelter inside a bomb shelter. When they came out there was no sign of life. They came upon a bowl like that was filled with over a thousand dead bodies. None were scattered or tumbled about, they all had committed suicide.
Mona laughed when seeing a rock with a note from Bokonon. It said that God was obviously trying to kill them and they should have the courtesy to do it themselves. She touched the ground with her fingers and put them against her lips. Jonah a couple days later found Bokonon and asked about his final chapter. Bokonon shrugged and showed him it.