Kurt Vonnegut’s vision of the world followong the atom bomb has many postmoder ideas. The major points of postmodernism are in chapters 74-79. The main point is Newts painting and how it is supposed to be a Cats Cradle but all you see is X's and as Julain would guess, "hell". Newt however, sees this painting as a representation of the childhooh game his father would brainstorm with, and I think he questions a lot in his world because the Cat's Cradle shows how you may think you see something , but nothing is really there. Newt questions all these so called "truths" when he askes "See the cat? See the cradle?" This painting is very different than a modernists point of view because it it both abstract and there is no real meaning to the picture, which is an underlying theme in the book, in my opinion, because throughout this novel we are told that religion is not the truth and John says that Cat's Cradle is "shameless lies",and I think his point is how do we know what is truth and what is a lie? In bokonism it basically questions all faiths which comes back to the question: what is and isnt the truth?
After all postmodernism is a rejection of the modernist movement and throughout Cat's Cradle we see that. Whether its through the sybolism in Newts picture, the underlying views of the bokonistic faith, or anything esle throughout the novel. Postmodernism is definitely a big part of Cat's Cradle
I am not sure if I understand QUITE what you are getting at in your comparison of Postmodernism to Cat's Cradle. I reread your posting just to be sure, and I understand that you are saying that Postmodernism is a rejection to the Modernist movement, yes. But I think that your reader would have to have a more thorough understanding of what the idea of Modernism is about. And then we will know YOUR understanding of Postmodernism, and then how Cat's Cradle is a Postmodernist text. Because at this point, I don't know how you are relating your references from the text to your ideas. So, right now, I can neither agree nor disagree with what you are saying because I just don't understand.
ReplyDeleteYeah I kinda agree with Leanne, I'm not so sure what your point is. I understand your "analysis" of Cat's Cradle I guess, when you talk about Newt and the Cat's Cradle and how there is an underlying meaning, I'm not so sure how that is connected to a postmodern thought. I think if you explained your thought more, and what exactly you meant it would be easier to understand. Just as Leanne, I can't say I agree or disagree, because I am not exactly sure what you are trying to get across.
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