Religion, science and faith - Essay Example

By deconstructing these institutions, Vonnegut invites us to appreciate the fact that most of the truths to which we hold fast are really rather silly when examined closely as well as things we used to believe in. John’s gradual conversion from Christianity to Bokononism, the fictional religion created by Vonnegut, is at the heart of the novel. As he pursues the Hoenikkers across the globe, each time he comes to a realization that pushes him one step closer to a Bokononist outlook. Brave New World being a classical example of a dystopian novel revolves around the idea of totalitarianism and is set in a futuristic world where a combination of science and pleasure form a rather feudalistic society.

I think this book is really interesting as it explores the dangers of technology and what it can do to a whole world; Brave New World explores the idea of just how far science can go without being immoral. Would we really want to live in a world where eugenics rule and despite everyone being equal on the surface, deep underneath prospers the idea of inequality and unfairness (1)? Vonnegut uses the plot of Cats Cradle to make a postmodern parody of how science really does not lead to a utopia and clashes with faith and religion.

He employs humor as a means to make his reader assume a critical stance toward science and religion. We can assume that in Cat’s Cradle science became a revered institution of truth and knowledge, and few people seriously questioned whether the truth and knowledge of modern science were necessarily beneficial. Vonnegut uses a religion he created for the novel called Bokononism to convey society’s misconceptions about the usefulness of truth. Bokononism is a religion that identifies with its own falseness.

It rejoices in accepting that its ideals are not true. At the same time, when we talk about Brave New World, we usually have in mind the