Okay, I've read through 27 and I definitely think that Cat's Cradle contains postmodern theme. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is the job of the scientists in this book. But this time it isn't the society as a whole that is focused on progress just for progress' sake. It's the individual. There are many people that call the scientists crazy but these people just see things in a different light than most people. One of the main characters in the book, the deceased Dr. Hoenikker, is presented as this insane and ridiculous man. But is that really the case? He was extremely intelligent and thought in ways that most people cannot even begin to understand.
When Jonah (John) was talking with Sandra she recalls a lecture from Dr. Hoenikker in which he explained the trouble with the world. "The trouble with the world was, that people were still superstitious instead of scientific. He [Dr. Hoenikker] said if everybody would study science more, there wouldn't be all the trouble there was." This explains why Dr. Hoenikker was so different from others. He was so worked up in just figuring things out because they're interesting and he wanted to know the answer. The postmodern view is presented in the way that he lived. It says that he wasn't really connected with his family and this makes sense because he was just interested in the results of experiments.
The scientists might thing differently than others but that doesn't mean that they should be seen as weird people. Yet, in this society they are. While Jonah was with Dr. Breed he saw a dirty woman who "..hated people who thought too much. At that moment, she struck me as an appropriate representative for almost all mankind." The outcast that the scientist becomes in this society is ridiculous. They shouldn't discriminate against someone if they just use what was given to them.
Okay, I know this blog is scatter-brained and some of the ideas aren't completely explained but that's just where I am right now in thinking about this book.
Peace.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dude, I do appreciate your argument here, and I do think it has some validity to it, but let me be honest. Since Hoenikker was such a brilliant thinker, wouldn't he have had the foresight to see what his atomic bomb would do to the world? Basically destroy it and change it for the worse, in my opinion. Ever since the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world has hurtled down a nuclear path of no return. We went through the Cold War with the Soviets, and even today we are still fearful of what Iran or North Korea could do to us with nuclear weapons. Perhaps the bomb was necessary to stop the war and prevent even more lives from being lost, but when one thinks about the course the world has taken ever since then, it puts that decision into question.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that scientists who conduct research just for the sake of research are crazy, but it seems to me that since they are such great thinkers, they should know the consequences of their actions for the world. Also, they should know the capabilities of humanity. Of course there's going to be a crazy person out there who takes advantage of research and uses it to their advantage, in some cases, for evil purposes.
Ok so I liked your blog because you actually talked about something different and interesting :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that people should probably back up off Dr. Hoenikker because he is different. I don't think he is evil or callous; I think he's just not aware of emotions and other human concepts like that. Hoenikker was definitely different but I don't think there was any malevolent intent behind it. (haha that just reminded me of maleficent!) He's just kind of like a brilliant toddler; he likes to experiment and lives in his own little world. So I have to disagree with Kathryn on this one. I don't think Hoenikker ever thought of his research as something that would be used as a doomsday weapon, he was just investigating something that captured his interest. He didn't realize the consequences his research would have because he doesn't think beyond the science itself. So yeah, good job!
Ariel!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your posting this week. Personally, I think that Dr. Hoenikker is a super genius dude. Everyone was bashing him basically because he did not have the conventional way of thinking. He kinda chilled in his own world as was removed from what was going on around him. It just amazed me about how he could experiment on the most random things and they always seemed to eb related back to the bomb. Interesting...Also, everything you siad about Dr. breed was true.The whole discrimination thing is crazy. However, I still really like this book. It's interesting in a way that I can relate to.
Well, I guess I'm finished... Toodle-oo
-"meow"