For Tuesday, write a reader response (your reaction) to this article. Your response should include specific examples and explanations as to why you agree or disagree with Liana Price’s view of the book. If you choose, you can write this as a reflection on how Price’s ideas have helped you understand Vonnegut’s book. The paper should show that you have thought about the topic. It should be at least two double-spaced pages, typed in Times New Roman 12-point font. Understanding Religion Through Cat's Cradle by Liana Price The following is issued as a warning from the author Kurt Vonnegut to the reader: "Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either"(14): typical of Vonnegut in his usage of creating a personal narrative.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born in Indianapolis, like many of his characters, in 1922. His life from that point on closely resembles the lives of the people in his satirical novel Cat’s Cradle. Vonnegut's mother committed suicide when he was twenty two years old and in many of his novels the character of the mother is dead. Vonnegut's "lifelong pessimism clearly has its roots in his parents' despairing response to the depression" (Allen 2). He was captured in WWII and was present in Dresden, Germany when it was bombed and set fire to, killing 135,000 citizens. This later became the basis for Vonnegut's greatest success Slaughterhouse-Five.
Cat’s Cradle was published in 1963, and though it wasn't as big a success as Slaughterhouse-Five, it became widely known as contributing to the "counter-culture" since it does in fact question and counter almost every part of our society's culture (Reed). One of the largest points of our culture brought into question in Cat’s Cradle is religion. Vonnegut himself is a Humanist, meaning that he isn't sure of