Understanding ourselves and the environment around us is no small feat. Science fiction novels have repeatedly attempted to address such topics by manipulating and distorting the future in a different light. But Kurt Vonnegut takes a different, unmistakably human approach: through comedy. In particular, Cat's Cradle is a meaningful and entertaining journey that pokes fun at humanity's quirks and foibles. Vonnegut does this using a unique, relaxed and fun style that takes a story about the end of the world and pits science and religion against each other. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin, the story takes many shots at how humans respond to and interpret innovative and revolutionary science. Dr. Felix Hoenikker, the fictional father of the atomic bomb, is a prime example of how science distorts truth and confuses morality. Despite creating a weapon that has wiped out thousands upon thousands of innocent lives, you feel nothing, not even a shred of responsibility. After the first atomic bomb test, a scientist laments, “Science has now known sin.” In response, Dr. Hoenikker ponders, “What is sin?” (Vonnegut 21). Such a distant and vacuous perspective was, and still is, common among scientists. Most ignore the implications and focus on the research, ironically blinding these truth seekers to the truth of reality. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the common man who sees science not as fact, but as baffling mysticism. A funny take on this comes from Felix Hoenikker's children, Angela, Frank, and Newt. After discovering their dead father on Cape Cod, the trio split up the rest of the ice-nine, a substance so dangerous that even the slightest misstep could mean the end of the world (which soon ends up happening). Just as their father ignores the consequences of creating ice-nine, his children ignore the consequences of selfishly clinging to it. In a fit of anger at his brothers, Frank states point blank, "I bought myself a job, just like [Angela] bought herself a husband, just like Newt bought himself a week on Cape Cod with a Russian dwarf," (Vonnegut 163). Not only is it comic fodder — each child traded the whole world for a place to belong that was inevitably unsatisfying — but it also illustrates how those who don't understand science or don't take it seriously are prone to making terrible mistakes. The subject matter is often so dark and twisted that it makes less sense than religion. Unlike how science is a collection of truths that cannot be adequately understood, religion is a collection of lies that are followed and embraced with extreme reverence. Specifically, in the context of this novel, it is about the invented religion of Bokononism, which is completely aware of its own absurdity and absurdity. The first sentence of the Books of Bokononism emphasizes that “All the things I am about to tell you are shameless lies” (Vonnegut 13). For such a religion to be so honest and straightforward is unheard of, but it makes perfect sense in Cat's Cradle. Vonnegut is purposely turning religion, and the humans who practice it, into a joke. What he is trying to convey is that human beings need to believe in lies to maintain hope, despite knowing deep down that there is no true answer to life. The story of the creation of Bokononism conveys this reality in the same direct manner. Man asks God, “What is the purpose of all this?” God then responds: “…I leave it to you to think of one…” (Vonnegut 177).:.