Angela Hoenikker Character Analysis in Cat’s Cradle

Angela is Dr. Hoenikker’s daughter. Like her brother Frank, she uses ice-nine—a chip of which the three children divided up on the day their father died—for personal gain. In her case, she acquires an immensely handsome husband, Harrison C. Conners, in exchange for the technology. This, realizes John, has put ice-nine in the hands of the U.S. government (Connors works for a military technology group). Angela is a staunch defender of her father, insisting that he never got the rewards that he deserved. She also plays the clarinet very beautifully, which is Vonnegut’s way of suggesting that the beauty of human culture means little when contrasted with its capacity for self-destruction. She dies playing the clarinet after it is contaminated with ice-nine.

Angela Hoenikker Quotes in Cat’s Cradle

The Cat’s Cradle quotes below are all either spoken by Angela Hoenikker or refer to Angela Hoenikker . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“I might as well tell you,” Angela said to me, “Dr. Breed told me I wasn’t supposed to co-operate with you. He said you weren’t interested in giving a fair picture of Father.” She showed me that she didn’t like me for that.

I placated her some by telling her that the book would probably never be done anyway, that I no longer had a clear idea of what it would or should mean.

“Well, if you ever do do the book, you better make Father a saint, because that’s what he was.”

Related Characters: Angela Hoenikker (speaker), Newt Hoenikker (speaker), Dr. Asa Breed, Dr. Felix Hoenikker

Page Number and Citation: 112

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote is also from John’s plane journey to San Lorenzo, on which he, by chance, bumps into Angela and Newt Hoenikker. Angela’s words reveal that Dr. Breed’s fallout with John at the research lab has led him to warn other people off John—because he feels that John does not treat science and its ideals fairly. Angela is, like Dr. Breed, a staunch defender of Dr. Hoenikker, and believes that he was never rewarded appropriately for his service to knowledge and humanity. John’s comments about his book are true: he never does complete the book he originally planned, The Day Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam conse

From what Frank had said before he slammed the door, I gathered that the Republic of San Lorenzo and the three Hoenikkers weren’t the only ones who had ice-nine. Apparently the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had it, too. The United States had obtained it through Angela’s husband, whose plant in Indianapolis was understandably surrounded by electrified fences and homicidal German shepherds. And Soviet Russia had come by it through Newt’s little Zinka, that winsome troll of Ukrainian ballet.

Related Characters: John (speaker), Frank Hoenikker, Angela Hoenikker , Newt Hoenikker, Dr. Felix Hoenikker, Zinka, Harrison C. Conners

Related Symbols: Ice-Nine

Page Number and Citation: 244

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote comes just before the novel’s climax, when ice-nine makes contact with the Caribbean Sea. “Papa” Monzano has committed suicide by ingesting ice-nine and thereby confirmed to John that the dangerous substance, contrary to Dr. Asa Breed’s earlier assertions, does exist. John realizes that each of the Hoenikker’s has used ice-nine for their own personal gain: Angela exchanged it for a husband (who was working for the U.S. military); Frank has given it to “Papa” in exchange for his position of power on San Lorenzo; and Newt (though accidentally in his case) has given it to the Soviet Union Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem

Angela Hoenikker Character Timeline in Cat’s Cradle

The timeline below shows where the character Angela Hoenikker appears in Cat’s Cradle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...his karass: Dr. Felix Hoenikker, the inventor of the atomic bomb, and Hoenikker’s children, Newt, Angela and Frank. (full context)

Absurdity and Meaninglessness Theme Icon

...do better to talk to his older siblings as they would remember more; he gives Angela’s address, but doesn’t know where Frank lives. (full context)

Newt’s letter continues. Apparently, Angela told Newt that he had really hurt Dr. Hoenikker by not admiring the cat’s cradle.... (full context)

Newt describes Angela as one of the “unsung heroines” of the atom bomb. At one stage during its... (full context)

...Hoenikker had made a small chip of it just before he died. He told Frank, Angela, and Newt about it on the Christmas Eve that he died—and they divided that chip... (full context)

John wipes away more sleet and uncovers the epitaphs. He sees they are from Angela, Frank, and Newt in tribute to their mother Emily (though Newt’s is just an imprint... (full context)

...out to be a front for a car-stealing operation. Newt, he says, is probably with Angela in Indianapolis. He describes Angela as “big” and “gawky,” and talks about how she used... (full context)

...is interrupted by Hazel, who is amazed to have found two more Hoosiers aboard the plane—Angela and Newt. (full context)

John finds Angela and Newt. From the present, John criticizes them for carrying ice-nine, “while under us was... (full context)

Angela tells John that Dr. Breed told her not to have contact with him. John says... (full context)

Angela shows John some of the pictures that she carries with her, many of which are... (full context)

Governance, Politics, and Nationhood Theme Icon

Angela shows John a picture of her playing the clarinet, and then one of her “strikingly... (full context)

“Papa” doesn’t die, “not then.” Minton and Claire are driven to their embassy; Newt and Angela go to Frank’s house; H. Lowe and Hazel Crosby are taken along with John to... (full context)

Angela comes back to the house, with Julian Castle, who is wearing a white linen suit... (full context)

...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... (full context)

Angela, Newt, John, and Julian have cocktails on the terrace. Angela drunkenly complains of how the... (full context)

...of chicken wire” down there. By now, they’ve probably gathered up Newt’s painting, he assumes. Angela grows more hysterical, so Newt implores her to fetch her clarinet. (full context)

When Angela is out of earshot, Newt apologizes on her behalf, explaining that her husband, Harrison C.... (full context)

Angela returns with her clarinet. When she plays—along to a record—John is astonished by the beauty... (full context)

Later that evening, Julian returns to the hospital. Angela, Newt, and John sit on the terrace overlooking Bolivar. Stanley points out different places on... (full context)

Frank’s servants bring the group gasoline lanterns. Angela and Newt tell John that Dr. Hoenikker had a twin brother, who is called Rudolph... (full context)

...woken by a loud banging. He flees out of the house, as do Newt and Angela. It turns out that the power has returned, and the noise is coming from the... (full context)

...with him. John, from the present-day, tells the reader that the thermos jugs carried by Angela and Newt contained chips of ice-nine. Frank takes John aside to talk, while John lusts... (full context)

...them about the ice-nine, sure that Frank must have given it to “Papa”, and that Angela and Newt must have some too. Newt throws up. (full context)

All Angela can say in response to what she is seeing is ‘Uck.” Newt, looking down at... (full context)

As Frank goes to leave in order to fetch the tools they need, Angela asks, “How could you give it to a man like “Papa” Monzano?” Contemptuously, Frank says... (full context)

...term for “shit-storm”) is beyond the “power of humans to comment.” John realizes that, with Angela and Newt also having traded ice-nine for personal gain, the American and Soviet governments must... (full context)

John asks Frank, Newt, and Angela to tell him about the story of the dog on the Christmas Eve that Dr.... (full context)

Continuing the story, Angela says she assumed Dr. Hoenikker was just sleeping in his chair, but was dead. While... (full context)

Angela, Newt, and Frank talk about how they divided up Dr. Hoenikker’s ice-nine on the day... (full context)

...by someone else to write the poem John saw by the palace gate. John assumes Angela, Philip, and Julian are dead, but doesn’t want to ask how yet. (full context)

...died. They had set out on foot for the hospital while the tornadoes still raged. Angela died playing her clarinet, which was contaminated with ice-nine. “Soft pipes, play on,” murmurs John.... (full context)

Angela Hoenikker Character Analysis

Angela Hoenikker Quotes in Cat’s Cradle

Chapter 51 Quotes

Chapter 110 Quotes

Angela Hoenikker Character Timeline in Cat’s Cradle