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 witnesses the last rites, administered by Dr. Koenigswald—who is not completely sure how they go. Even though he’s a scientist, he says “I will do anything to make a human being feel better, even if it’s unscientific.” Dr. Koenigswald gets into position to perform boko-maru with “Papa”.
Here, Koenigswald expresses a relatively noble sentiment towards alleviating the suffering of others. The only problem is, he used to be a Nazi physician. Just like every other moment in the novel in which there seems to be a move towards a moral position, it’s undercut by the absurdism of the situation.
Themes
