Postmodernist Features in Vonneguts Cats Cradle

Postmodernist Features in Vonneguts Cats Cradle Cats Cradle is a book, which enables many points for literary discussions. One possible topic of them could be the postmodernist features in this book. In this examination Ihab Hassans essay Toward a Concept of Postmodernism was used as a source of secondary literature for defining of postmodernist features. The most visible and prevalent features are postmodernist metonymy, treatment of the character, dynamic tension, anarchy and a postmodernist look at religion as a whole. To put Vonneguts Cradle into a definite time span, let me start with a bit of personal data about the author. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November†¦show more content†¦ In fact, in each of his novels there is at least one character from his native region. This can be compared to director Alfred Hitchcocks practice of self cameos on screen. It is true, that we can find some parallels between Vonneguts books and his life. The book Cats Cradle is no exception. The Hoenikker family of the novel, consists of an elder son, middle daughter and the youngest child is a boy, just the same as in Vonneguts own family. Another parallel can be seen in connection with Vonneguts mother. His mother committed suicide, when he was twenty-two years old and in many of his novels the character of the mother is dead. But lets focus on the book Cats Cradle itself. This book was written in 1963. The second title of the book, which is, The Day the World Ended can attract the reader immediately. John, a writer, is the fictional author of a book, which he calls The Day the World Ended. He decides to write about Felix Hoenikker, one of the creators of the atomic bomb and his family on the day when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. In his research, John gets in touch with Newt Hoenikker, the youngest, midget son of Felix Hoenikker. Newt writes letters to John and tells him about his brother Frank and sister Angela. Newt also describes the day when the bomb was dropped, the day when his father went toShow MoreRelatedPostmodernism in Literature5514 Words   |  23 PagesEnlightenment ideas implicit in Modernist literature. Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is difficult to define and there is little agreement on the exact characteristics, scope, and importance of postmodern literature. However, unifying features often coincide with Jean-Franà §ois Lyotards concept of the meta-narrative and little narrative, Jacques Derridas concept of play, and Jean Baudrillards simulacra. For example, instead of the modernist quest for meaning in a chaotic world