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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Cat’s Cradle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Morality
Religion
Governance, Politics, and Nationhood
Absurdity and Meaninglessness
Summary
Analysis
John asks Dr. Breed whether ice-nine really exists. Dr. Breed insists it doesn’t, and is only talking about Dr. Hoenikker’s theory to demonstrate the latter man’s problem-solving skills. Furthermore, given that the lab operates a “pure research” policy, he insists Dr. Hoenikker wouldn’t have worked on ice-nine unless it genuinely interesting to him.
As John comes to learn over the course of the story, ice-nine is very much in existence.
Themes
John continues asking about ice-nine: “If the streams flowing through the swamp froze as ice-nine, what about the rivers and lakes the streams fed?” Dr. Breed confirms they would freeze too. John follows the logic and asks about the oceans connected to those rivers. Annoyed by John, Dr. Breed confirms that they’d freeze too, as well as “the springs feeding” the frozen lakes and streams, and all the water underground feeding the springs.”
John spells out the potential consequences of ice-nine for the reader. If each water molecule teaches the next to freeze, essentially all the water in the world will turn solid. Water is, of course, one of the basic needs for human, and other, life to exist. Amazingly, the idea of ice-nine was actually pitched by a real Nobel laureate to Vonnegut as something he could use in a story.
Themes
Dr. Breed shouts at John for being a “member of the yellow press.” He confirms John’s assumption that rain would freeze into “hard hobnails of ice-nine.” He says, “and that would be the end of the world! And the end of the interview, too! Good-bye!”
The yellow press is a derogatory term for sensationalist journalism. Dr. Breed acknowledges that ice-nine would spell the end of the world, but is essentially too scared to acknowledge the responsibility of science in such a scenario. Feeling offended, he terminates the interview.
Themes
