The fictionalized religion of Bokononism in Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, satirically remarks on belief systems and society as a whole. This religion confronts the “shameless untruths” that Vonnegut believes all religions to be formed upon by bringing them to the front and still having devoted followers. With this, Vonnegut humorously assaults not only the idea and truth of all religion, but also the stupidity of humanity.
Bokononism begins as nothing but a lie, but it is not this that makes it unique. The exceptionality of Bokononism is that the lies are up front and all devoted Bokononists are aware of the untruths of which they devote their lives. Bokonon himself says, "I wanted all things/ To seem to make some sense,/ So we all could be happy, yes,/ Instead of tense./ And I made up lies/ So that they all fit nice,/ And I made this sad world/ A par-a-dise" (Vonnegut 127). Bokononism is not only filled with such lies, but is founded upon them. Bokononism arose as Bokonon arrived on the desolate island of San Lorenzo and witnessed the immense difficulties that the people of the island suffered through. He remarks, "Oh a very sorry people, yes,/ Did I find here,/ Oh, they had no music,/ And they had no beer./ And, oh, everywhere/ Where they tried to perch/ Belonged to Castle Sugar, Incorporated,/ Or the Catholic Church" (Vonnegut 123). With this “calypso,” as Bokonon calls them, the destitution of the San Lorenzans is clearly illustrated as they had neither the luxuries of music and beer, nor a place to live. Through the fabrications of Bokononism, he creates a world for these impoverished people where there is a sense, however small, of hope. It is with the hope, buried beneath the lies, that Bokonon seeded that the religion grew, for "Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies" (Vonnegut 172). The lies of a better world, of a purpose, and of a group for all was exponentially better than any speck of truth in their reality.
As each lie grew, so did the religion and the following, but still it was not enough. The fallacies continued as Bokonon transforms himself into a martyr by asking his friend and leader of San Lorenzo to outlaw himself and his religion. Like many religions before it, Bokonon flourished under political oppression, as Bokonon himself says, “So I said good-bye to government, / And I gave my reason:/ That a really good religion/ is a form of treason" (Vonnegut 173). This was the final false push to convert the entire island of San Lorenzo, and while they knew the stories and beliefs were lies, they taught an underlying truth to be discovered and believed in. The foundation and beliefs in the fictions of Bokononism that are themselves humorous, mirror those of many religions that humanity has had faith in throughout history and the world. The fundamental difference being that Bokononists are entirely aware of the fallacies of their religion, but that in no way weakens their belief. This critical comment by Vonnegut on the unnecessary need for religions to be true not only remarks on the foolishness of religion as anything but a source of hope in a desolate world, but the stupidity of humanity for believing in something for the sake of finding meaning in a meaningless world.
While Vonnegut assaults the misleading nature of religions and their purpose, he also mocks the human desire to discover a deeper meaning in their existence. It is, in fact, this need that all religions are built upon, Bokononism being no exception other than the bluntness and sarcasm with which the question is answered. Jonah, the protagonist, himself asks how anyone could understand the complexities of life, to which he is answered by a calypso that states, "Tiger go to hunt, / Bird got to fly;/ Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?'/ Tiger got to sleep, / Bird got to land;/ Man got to tell himself to understand'" (Vonnegut 182). Vonnegut exposes the unnecessary compulsion of humanity to try and understand their purpose in the grand scheme of things, juxtaposing mankind with simpler animals who are contented with their stations in life, while we continue to ask “why?” Humanity does not simply survive, but rather we ponder why we are doing so. What Vonnegut asserts as the answer to this is found within his parable on folly where he claims, "She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he sees what God is doing..." (Vonnegut 5). The mystery of God and his work remains present within Bokononism as it does in many other religions, but unlike the traditional religions, Bokononism concedes to the idea that the workings of God should not and will never be understood. This is reiterated when Bokonon summarizes the statement "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's" to his own ideology, by saying, “Pay no attention to Caesar. Caesar doesn't have the slightest idea what's really going on" (Vonnegut 101). With this statement, Vonnegut renders humanity obsolete, having no inclination at the true purpose of anything, and under this religion, not needing to. This is Vonnegut’s implication, that humanity creates a need for a reason to be alive. Vonnegut leaves us with this idea most powerfully through the creation myth of Bokononism, wherein God creates man from mud and man looks around and asks for the purpose of it all. God counters this question with "'Everything must have a purpose?"' (Vonnegut 265). Man assures God that everything must have a purpose, to which God says, '’Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this"' (Vonnegut 265). This blunt remark on how man has fabricated every religion, purpose, and idea in the world is the most indicative of Vonnegut’s assertion that man searches for a meaning in a world with none, even when made aware of this idea, as the Bokononist believers are. Man has fictionalized everything, as Vonnegut fictionalized Bokononism, to give himself a sense of existence.
Vonnegut’s satirical criticism of both religion and the foolish search for purpose culminates into a greater whipping remark on the stupidity of all humanity. This is the greatest point made within all of Bokononism, and this is how the novel both ends and begins. Upon the end of the world, brought about by the isotope of water named ice-nine, Bokonon writes to his followers and all on San Lorenzo, "To whom it may concern: These people around you are almost all of the survivors on San Lorenzo of the winds that followed the freezing of the sea. These people made a captive of the spurious holy man named Bokonon, They brought him here, placed him at their center and commanded him to tell them exactly what God Almighty was up to and what they should now do. The mountebank told them that God was surely trying to kill them, possibly because He was through with them, and that they should have the good manners to die. This, as you can see, they did" (Vonnegut 272-273). The willingness and stupidity of the inhabitants of San Lorenzo to end their lives in the blind faith of a man who told lies to them consistently is evident from this passage. The power that they allowed Bokonon to have over them is excessive; stupid enough to take their own lives on the word of a holy man after they had weathered the worst of the storms. With the stupidity acknowledged by Bokonon he leaves his followers frozen as a monument of human stupidity and later writes in his final Book of Bokonon, "If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who" (Vonnegut 287).This story of human stupidity is the story that Jonah writes and what Cat’s Cradle truly is. Each piece of the novel, and most essentially, of Bokononism, is established to tell the follies of humanity. Vonnegut leaves with the reader a lasting, cutting remark on the incorrigible and senseless nature of humanity that will end the world, as it did in the novel.
Kurt Vonnegut’s black humor jests at the state of humanity with a sharp tongue that cuts deeply and leaves his message behind like a poison, to fester in the minds of the reader. In his creation of Bokononism in Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut leaves us with the story of stupidity of the human race, commenting on faith, love, truth, lies and a challenge to change it. "'What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?’ 'Nothing"'(Vonnegut 245). This is what Vonnegut means to change.
Works Citation
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. New York: Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, 2010. Print.
Bokononism begins as nothing but a lie, but it is not this that makes it unique. The exceptionality of Bokononism is that the lies are up front and all devoted Bokononists are aware of the untruths of which they devote their lives. Bokonon himself says, "I wanted all things/ To seem to make some sense,/ So we all could be happy, yes,/ Instead of tense./ And I made up lies/ So that they all fit nice,/ And I made this sad world/ A par-a-dise" (Vonnegut 127). Bokononism is not only filled with such lies, but is founded upon them. Bokononism arose as Bokonon arrived on the desolate island of San Lorenzo and witnessed the immense difficulties that the people of the island suffered through. He remarks, "Oh a very sorry people, yes,/ Did I find here,/ Oh, they had no music,/ And they had no beer./ And, oh, everywhere/ Where they tried to perch/ Belonged to Castle Sugar, Incorporated,/ Or the Catholic Church" (Vonnegut 123). With this “calypso,” as Bokonon calls them, the destitution of the San Lorenzans is clearly illustrated as they had neither the luxuries of music and beer, nor a place to live. Through the fabrications of Bokononism, he creates a world for these impoverished people where there is a sense, however small, of hope. It is with the hope, buried beneath the lies, that Bokonon seeded that the religion grew, for "Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies" (Vonnegut 172). The lies of a better world, of a purpose, and of a group for all was exponentially better than any speck of truth in their reality.
As each lie grew, so did the religion and the following, but still it was not enough. The fallacies continued as Bokonon transforms himself into a martyr by asking his friend and leader of San Lorenzo to outlaw himself and his religion. Like many religions before it, Bokonon flourished under political oppression, as Bokonon himself says, “So I said good-bye to government, / And I gave my reason:/ That a really good religion/ is a form of treason" (Vonnegut 173). This was the final false push to convert the entire island of San Lorenzo, and while they knew the stories and beliefs were lies, they taught an underlying truth to be discovered and believed in. The foundation and beliefs in the fictions of Bokononism that are themselves humorous, mirror those of many religions that humanity has had faith in throughout history and the world. The fundamental difference being that Bokononists are entirely aware of the fallacies of their religion, but that in no way weakens their belief. This critical comment by Vonnegut on the unnecessary need for religions to be true not only remarks on the foolishness of religion as anything but a source of hope in a desolate world, but the stupidity of humanity for believing in something for the sake of finding meaning in a meaningless world.
While Vonnegut assaults the misleading nature of religions and their purpose, he also mocks the human desire to discover a deeper meaning in their existence. It is, in fact, this need that all religions are built upon, Bokononism being no exception other than the bluntness and sarcasm with which the question is answered. Jonah, the protagonist, himself asks how anyone could understand the complexities of life, to which he is answered by a calypso that states, "Tiger go to hunt, / Bird got to fly;/ Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?'/ Tiger got to sleep, / Bird got to land;/ Man got to tell himself to understand'" (Vonnegut 182). Vonnegut exposes the unnecessary compulsion of humanity to try and understand their purpose in the grand scheme of things, juxtaposing mankind with simpler animals who are contented with their stations in life, while we continue to ask “why?” Humanity does not simply survive, but rather we ponder why we are doing so. What Vonnegut asserts as the answer to this is found within his parable on folly where he claims, "She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he sees what God is doing..." (Vonnegut 5). The mystery of God and his work remains present within Bokononism as it does in many other religions, but unlike the traditional religions, Bokononism concedes to the idea that the workings of God should not and will never be understood. This is reiterated when Bokonon summarizes the statement "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's" to his own ideology, by saying, “Pay no attention to Caesar. Caesar doesn't have the slightest idea what's really going on" (Vonnegut 101). With this statement, Vonnegut renders humanity obsolete, having no inclination at the true purpose of anything, and under this religion, not needing to. This is Vonnegut’s implication, that humanity creates a need for a reason to be alive. Vonnegut leaves us with this idea most powerfully through the creation myth of Bokononism, wherein God creates man from mud and man looks around and asks for the purpose of it all. God counters this question with "'Everything must have a purpose?"' (Vonnegut 265). Man assures God that everything must have a purpose, to which God says, '’Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this"' (Vonnegut 265). This blunt remark on how man has fabricated every religion, purpose, and idea in the world is the most indicative of Vonnegut’s assertion that man searches for a meaning in a world with none, even when made aware of this idea, as the Bokononist believers are. Man has fictionalized everything, as Vonnegut fictionalized Bokononism, to give himself a sense of existence.
Vonnegut’s satirical criticism of both religion and the foolish search for purpose culminates into a greater whipping remark on the stupidity of all humanity. This is the greatest point made within all of Bokononism, and this is how the novel both ends and begins. Upon the end of the world, brought about by the isotope of water named ice-nine, Bokonon writes to his followers and all on San Lorenzo, "To whom it may concern: These people around you are almost all of the survivors on San Lorenzo of the winds that followed the freezing of the sea. These people made a captive of the spurious holy man named Bokonon, They brought him here, placed him at their center and commanded him to tell them exactly what God Almighty was up to and what they should now do. The mountebank told them that God was surely trying to kill them, possibly because He was through with them, and that they should have the good manners to die. This, as you can see, they did" (Vonnegut 272-273). The willingness and stupidity of the inhabitants of San Lorenzo to end their lives in the blind faith of a man who told lies to them consistently is evident from this passage. The power that they allowed Bokonon to have over them is excessive; stupid enough to take their own lives on the word of a holy man after they had weathered the worst of the storms. With the stupidity acknowledged by Bokonon he leaves his followers frozen as a monument of human stupidity and later writes in his final Book of Bokonon, "If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who" (Vonnegut 287).This story of human stupidity is the story that Jonah writes and what Cat’s Cradle truly is. Each piece of the novel, and most essentially, of Bokononism, is established to tell the follies of humanity. Vonnegut leaves with the reader a lasting, cutting remark on the incorrigible and senseless nature of humanity that will end the world, as it did in the novel.
Kurt Vonnegut’s black humor jests at the state of humanity with a sharp tongue that cuts deeply and leaves his message behind like a poison, to fester in the minds of the reader. In his creation of Bokononism in Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut leaves us with the story of stupidity of the human race, commenting on faith, love, truth, lies and a challenge to change it. "'What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?’ 'Nothing"'(Vonnegut 245). This is what Vonnegut means to change.
Works Citation
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. New York: Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, 2010. Print.