All Wrong

It was one of those moments when you're wondering, what is happening? Why is that happening? And how can I make it stop? All at once, the island of San Lorenzo turned into mass chaos. One thing after another. "Papa" Monzano died. A plane crashed into the castle. The castle turned to ruins. Ice-nine killed almost every person on the island. All because of Felix. It all came back to him. The clash of science, religion, and destiny. And "no life" could be seen (269). There "were thousands upon thousands of dead" (272). But why? How could this happen to all the citizens of San Lorenzo? Why are the only surviors the visitors to the island? Oh, the irony. They had given nothing to benefit the desperate island, and they were the only ones alive. I just kept asking myself, why? The end of Kurt Vonnegut's novel left me angry and troubled. The wrong people had lost their lives. And the wrong ones lived.

You Can

I am a firm believer that if you work hard enough, you can live anywhere in the world. Anywhere your heart desires. Save your money, look for jobs, and make things work. It is your life and you have full control of what you do with it. Yes, I understand that people are poor and get stuck in ruts, feeling so overwhelmed that they can't seem to get out of the downward spiral of poverty. Yes, I might be a little biased since I have never faced any adversity in my life, living in the wealthy bubble of Chagrin Falls. But why would anyone choose to live in a place like San Lorenzo? Described in Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Cat's Cradle, San Lorenzo was founded by Johnson and McCabe, two hopeful men looking to build a prosperous nation. They found the nation in a miserable state. San Lorzenzo was built of "twigs, tin, crates, and mud" and was a "sour mash of slop" (133). Looking to turn the island in the other direction, Johnson and McCabe failed horrendously. And so did the new leader, "Papa" Monzano. Therefore, "everybody was bound to fail" in the helpless country (133). With the depressed diciton of "helpless," Vonnegut creates a dispairing tone, indirectly characterizing the citizens of San Lorzenzo as hopeless, inflicting pathos on them. And to my surprise and dismay, I learned that there lived four hundred and fifty inhabitants for every square mile. With such a depressed and forlorn economy, I couldn't help but question myself why so many individuals took to living there? The only wealthy people of San Lorzenzo were the people in charge of the government, letting their citizens struggle. I just wanted them all to leave. Find a better place, before it is too late.

Love at first sight?

I've always been unsure on how I feel about love at first sight. Granted, I have never been in love, so how could I judge such a thing? Well, I did. The protagonist Jonah, in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, conveys his love for "the girl on the cover" of the New York Sunday Times (80). Jonah claims that he "had fallen in love with [Mona] on sight" (80). Without knowing anything about this mysterious Mona Aamons Monzano, Jonah uses this enigmatic woman as the force behind his meaningless life (85). He dreames of being with Mona for the rest of his life, and uses Mona as the purpose behind him living. I would like to believe that this can possibly happen in life, finding a beautiful girl to devote your life and love, but I can't. Actually, I find it somewhat immoral. Basing love off of looks seems iniquitous to me, for I believe that many more aspects go into true love. I feel that once Jonah had the pleasure of being with Mona, he realized that too. Although he did love her for her beauty and grace, he found that she "loves everyone" because it makes people happy (207). He only wanted Mona to love him and only him. With this conflict, Jonah became controlling and jealous, ordering Mona to stop loving others. With this I question, would he have fallen in love with her if he knew of her loving personality? Who knows.