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
Julian squints at the painting; John asks him what he thinks of it. Julian hypothesizes that it might be hell; John explains it’s meant to be a cat’s cradle. Angela calls it ugly. John talks about the significance of the cat’s cradle, causing Julian to call it a “picture of the meaninglessness of it all.” He tells John to quote him: “man is vile, and man makes nothing worth making, knows nothing worth knowing.” He picks up the painting and tosses it into the waterfall.
Julian embodies the bleakest assessment of humankind’s worth in the novel. His comment is in line with the absurdist idea that life is inherently meaningless.
Themes
