Cat’s Cradle Blog 2: Form and Genre

Cat’s Cradle proves to be an extremely complex work of fiction that manages to shed light on real, relevant social issues in a way that is entertaining, and even humorous to the reader, despite the issues that are brought to light being potentially uncomfortable to think about. While it can be argued that Cat’s Cradle falls into several different genres, due to both its unique style and execution, the aforementioned characteristic primarily points towards the genre and conventions of satire. Satire exists for this very reason, to use humor and entertainment to either insight some sort of change, or at least bring the audience to further think about and investigate societal issues that might otherwise go unattended to. One of the primary sets of controlling values that we identified in blog 1, the idea of either seeking the truth at the risk of one’s own happiness and/or comfort, and living in the comfort of a lie while accepting that it is in fact a lie, speaks as to why this genre needs to exist in the first place. Many people may be tempted to ignore issues for the sake of complacency and comfort, but satire serves as a way to effectively trick this target demographic to see through to the other side, and perhaps allow them to see the truth without sacrificing their comfort or happiness.

Aside from this element of satire, Cat’s Cradle relies heavily on the conventions of science fiction, such as a futuristic setting relative to the time period the book was produced, and the invention of new technologies, lexicon, and organizations. Science fiction is a genre that combines extremely well with the elements of satire for the very reason that science fiction exists in the first place, exploring “what if” scenarios and satisfying the innate human element of curiosity/innovation.

The conventions of both satire and science fiction is one form used in Cat’s Cradle, but another form found in the book is the qualitative progressive form. As Burke discusses in his Lexicon Rhetorica, qualitative progressive form is “the presence of one quality prepares us for the introduction of another” (125). One example would be foreshadowing, but the form calls for more than one insistance. In Cat’s Cradle, Jonah sets up a qualitative progressive form when he introduces us to the idea of his Karass (the network of people your life becomes tangled with in order to complete the tasks God meant for you). Jonah tells the reader that his karass “includes the three children of Dr. Felix Hoenikker” (6). By doing so, Jonah is establishing a mood of anticipation. The reader knows that Jonah will be tangled up with the Hoenikker children (Newt, Angela, and Frank) and they are constantly waiting for the moment where the convergence of these characters finally happen. Jonah repeatedly has close, but not full, encounters with the Hoenikker children, like Newt writing Jonah a letter or people in Ilium talking about them, which build the anticipation. Then finally when they meet on a plane ride by chance, Jonah goes to talk to them, and the reader feels a sense of completion or satisfaction. That mood would not be possible if the reader had not been placed in a state of anticipation before. Newt even happens to be drinking champagne, making the meeting feel like a celebration.

But then, Jonah says “The little son of a bitch had a crystal of ice-nine in a thermos in his luggage” (111). Oh yeah, nothing is actually resolved because  world ending ice-nine substance Jonah also warned us about is still out in the world, which Jonah on the plane doesn’t know about, and the karass hasn’t actually done anything they are suppose to. So in a sentence the reader gone from that fleeting sense of resolution back to anticipation. The qualitative progressive form created by the repeated idea of the karass takes the reader through the spectrum of anticipation and resolution. But there is another spectrum created of being given answers and then asking questions. For example, Jonah  gives us an answer in the previous quote, “The little son of a bitch had a crystal of ice-nine in a thermos in his luggage.” Repeatedly Jonah tells the reader that the Hoenikker children have ice-nine. The answer to the mystery of where is Dr. Hoenikker deadliest weapon is already given to us, but because the answer leads the reader to ask more questions. What are the Hoenikkers going to do with it? How will Jonah discover they have it? Will someone release it upon the world? The qualitative progressive form is taking the reader along the spectrum that the genre of satire wants the reader to take–to question. Satire wants to make us think, often about issues that we do not wish to. By giving the reader some of the answers, the qualitative progressive form in Cat’s Cradle is preparing the reader to ask the questions they might not have wanted to ask.

While the narrator is searching for his own truth, so is the reader. In this way, the narrator is almost meant to be a stand-in for the average reader, or target demographic for which the form is directed at. Not only does this make the narrator immediately relatable in an emotional sense for the reader, but it also means that the reader is inherently thrown into the struggle between the opposing controlling values along with the narrator. Considering the discussed intention of satire, to introduce potentially unsuspecting readers to potentially uncomfortable ideas or situations in the hopes of inciting some sort of cultural change or recognition of an issue, this means that the form serves to accomplish the goal of the genre and specific novel very well.

By Jordan