Before I discuss the post modernistic theme in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel
Cat’s Cradle I would first like to express how much I enjoyed this
week’s Socratic circle on Thursday. Listening my peer’s thoughts and
insights really helped me understand some of the key themes and
concepts that appear in Kurt’s novel and opened my eyes to things I
didn’t realize on my own. The main issue that concluded our Socratic
circle yesterday was that Kurt Vonnegut related post modernism to his
novel Cat’s Cradle. Post modernism was a movement in response to the
ideas and elements of Modernism. Modernism is primarily based upon the
proposal that “decoration is sin” and revolved around regularity and
standardization. Post Modernism criticizes these ideas and purposes
that there is no right way of seeing or understanding a piece of art or
literature. Post Modernism purposes that different individuals will
visualize and react to the same piece of work in their own way based on
their individual backgrounds and environment. The theme of Post
Modernism appears strongly throughout Cat’s Cradle but mainly in the
chapters we discussed in our Socratic Circle (Chapters 74-80). The
major focal point of these chapters is the different reactions of Newt
Hoenikker’s painting. The painting is described as “Small and black and
warty. It consisted of scratches made in a black, gummy impasto. The
scratches formed a sort of spider’s web.” By this description of the
painting it’s clear to tell that this piece of art doesn’t follow the
ideas of modernism and structural elements. Because this painting is so
abstract and doesn’t have a set meaning it can be related to post
modernism. This painting’s purpose and meaning will differ based upon
the individual viewing it. Each person will view it differently and
there is no right way of seeing it. Kurt included this painting in his
novel to represent post modernism
