Foma is the Bokononist term for lies “that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.” Bokonon deems the entirety of his religion to be foma.
Foma Quotes in Cat’s Cradle
The Cat’s Cradle quotes below are all either spoken by Foma or refer to Foma. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
I do not intend that this book be a tract on behalf of Bokononism. I should like to offer a Bokononist warning about it, however. The first sentence in The Books of Bokonon is this:
“All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.”
My Bokononist warning is this:
Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either.
So be it.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Cat’s Cradle LitChart as a printable PDF.
Foma Term Timeline in Cat’s Cradle
The timeline below shows where the term Foma appears in Cat’s Cradle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4. A Tentative Tangling of Tendrils
...his karass “have been up to.” He explains that Bokonon is a religion founded on foma: “shameless lies” (a direct quote from The Books of Bokonon). He cautions the reader that...
(full context)
Chapter 85. A Pack of Foma
...went to live with her “favourite child, which was Earth.” Bokonon calls his own cosmogony “Foma! Lies!”
(full context)
Chapter 118. The Iron Maiden and the Oubliette
...The first book implores the reader to close the book, as everything contained within is “foma” (lies). It retells the Bokonon story of creation, in which man asks God for the...
(full context)
