Cat's Cradle

Chapters 1-24

Reading Check

1. The day the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan (Chapter 1)

2. Glamorous (Chapter 7)

3. Muddy terrain (Chapter 19)

Short Answer

1. A team of people who work together to accomplish God’s will without realizing what they are doing (Chapter 1)

2. Upset by his father’s ugliness, he cries and runs away. (Chapter 5)

3. They used the nickname because Frank was unsociable, as if he were on a secret mission. (Chapter 10)

Chapters 25-47

Reading Check

1. He builds models. (Chapter 34)

2. Sugar farming (Chapter 40)

3. Communist sympathizers (Chapter 44)

Short Answer

1. He questions what God and love are. (Chapter 26)

2. She is in awe of his scientific genius and apparent innocence. (Chapter 33)

3. He interprets it as a sign of divine intervention. (Chapter 34)

Chapters 48-73

Reading Check

1. He is shipwrecked. (Chapter 49)

2. To boost his popularity (Chapter 55)

3. Christianity (Chapter 61)

4. “Home on the Range” (Chapter 63)

Short Answer

1. He believes that Frank can best use the power of science to help the people of San Lorenzo. (Chapter 66)

2. They are offended by Philip’s sarcastic remarks and unconventional views. (Chapter 71)

Chapters 74-99

Reading Check

1. The clarinet (Chapter 81)

2. Fate or destiny (Chapter 82)

3. President of San Lorenzo (Chapter 87)

4. People (Chapter 94)

Short Answer

1. It represents disillusionment and deception, since the string figure contains neither cat nor cradle. (Chapter 74)

2. He knew that outlawing Bokononism would only make it more appealing to the people. (Chapter 78)

Chapters 100-127

Reading Check

1. The Day of the Hundred Martyrs to Democracy (Chapter 100)

2. Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Karl Marx, Mao Tse-Tung, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Emperor Hirohito (implied) (Chapter 102)

3. Zinka takes it from Newt (Chapter 109)

4. To the top of Mount McCabe (Chapter 127)

Short Answer

1. By fighting the “stupidity and viciousness” that were the underlying causes of the war that killed them. (Chapter 114)

2. He feels that Frank’s interest in the ants shows that he has learned nothing from what happened. (Chapter 124)