Cat's Cradle

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-24

Reading Check

1. What is the subject of the book John (the narrator) is working on as the novel opens?

2. What word does Newt suggest John use to describe the Hoenikkers instead of “illustrious”?

3. A complaint about what problem led Dr. Hoenikker to develop ice-nine?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. According to Bokononism, what is a karass?

2. How does Newt respond when his father shows him the cat’s cradle?

3. Why did Frank’s peers call him “Secret Agent X-9” during high school?

Paired Resource

“The First Nuclear Bomb – Manhattan Project”

• This 10-minute video explains the development and use of the first atomic weapons.
• This resource relates to The Risks and Limitations of Scientific Inquiry.
• How do the development and use of the atomic bomb as presented in the video compare with the alternate history presented in Cat’s Cradle?

Chapters 25-47

Reading Check

1. What kind of work does Frank do in his youth?

2. What kind of business did Julian Castle run before opening the hospital?

3. What do the Crosbys accuse the Mintons of being?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Dr. Hoenikker respond to Miss Faust’s claim that “God is love”?

2. Emily has many admirers. Why does she choose to marry Felix Hoenikker?

3. How does John react to the coincidence of seeing his family name on the stone angel?

Paired Resource

“Navigating Past Nihilism”

• This 2010 New York Times opinion piece by Sean D. Kelly identifies some of the complexities surrounding the search for meaning against the backdrop of competing nihilistic and religious tendencies.
• This resource relates to The Usefulness of Religion.
• Based on the presentation of nihilism in this article, was it fair for John to reject nihilism after his negative experience lending his apartment to a nihilistic poet?

Chapters 48-73

Reading Check

1. How does Bokonon end up in San Lorenzo?

2. Why did Papa Monzano adopt Mona Aamons?

3. What is the official religion of San Lorenzo?

4. The national anthem of San Lorenzo is set to which tune?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Papa Monzano select Frank as his successor?

2. Why do the Crosbys leave Philip’s hotel?

Paired Resource

“Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi”

• This 4-minute video highlights several of Gandhi’s most famous statements.
• Bokonon spends two years as a follower of Gandhi in India. Based on this video, how strongly did Gandhi influence Bokonon? What similarities and differences can you find?

Chapters 74-99

Reading Check

1. Which instrument does Angela play?

2. What does the Bokononist word “zah-mah-ki-bo” mean?

3. What job does Frank offer to John?

4. According to Frank, what is the only thing Bokononism holds sacred?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the significance of the cat’s cradle to Newt?

2. Why did Bokonon ask McCabe to outlaw his religion?

Paired Resource

Interview With Kurt Vonnegut

• A 2003 interview published in The Progressive magazine in which Vonnegut shares his frank opinions on then-current politics and other topics. (Content Warning: Profanity; mature themes)
• Some of Vonnegut’s statements relate to the theme of The Persistence of Human Foolishness.
• Based on this interview, do you think Vonnegut would have considered John a good candidate for the presidency of San Lorenzo? Why or why not?

Chapters 100-127

Reading Check

1. What holiday does the country of San Lorenzo celebrate in this section?

2. Name at least one of the historical figures whose images are to be destroyed in the air show.

3. How does the Soviet Union gain access to ice-nine?

4. Where does Bokonon suggest John take his manuscript?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Horlick Minton suggest is the best way to honor those who died in war?

2. Why is John frustrated by Frank’s interest in the ant colony?

Recommended Next Reads 

Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

• A 1958 darkly comic send-up of Cold War-era espionage set in Cuba
• Shared theme of The Persistence of Human Foolishness
• Our Man in Havana on SuperSummary

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• A dystopian novel in which technological progress does not lead to an increase in human welfare
• Shared theme of The Risks and Limitations of Scientific Inquiry
• Brave New World on SuperSummary