Cat's Cradle

Analysis: Hundred Martyrs to Democracy and Science

The Hundred Martyrs to Democracy in the novel Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut stands for the stupidity of war, and how fragile human life is. Science vs. Religion is a dominant theme in this novel, but the Hundred Martyrs to Democracy is just a reminder to the reader that no matter how much technology advances and aids in the war effort, war and the killing of people will not become anymore humane. An atomic bomb can be dropped and the pilot just has to turn the plane around and not see the lives he destroyed, but it won't be any different than battles fought with foot soldiers in reality.


Human stupidity also plays a big role in this novel. The Hundred Martyrs to Democracy strengthens this theme. Here are one hundred men, sent to fight in a war and before they even get there and make an impact on anything, they died by a German submarine. Another ironic thing about this is that San Lorenzo is a dictatorship and sent a hundred men to fight in the name of "democracy." Even if these men were to have made it to the United States, they were fighting for a cause not of their own and it would not have made an impact in their life at San Lorenzo. Also, San Lorenzo said they declared war on Germany after Pearl Harbor. But San Lorenzo is a comparatively small island who declared war with a huge European power, Germany, and sending one hundred men to fight with the United States would probably have made little to no impact in the war effort even if these men did make their journey to the States. How stupid would these men be to fight for democracy when they are living in a dictatorship that does not even support their cause?


The Hundred Martyrs to Democracy shows the reader very clearly and almost humorously the stupidity of war and the stupidity of mankind. The reader can extend this idea to the modern world, commenting on how war does not solve all problems and how many people die in vain because of it. To the public, it is not an individual being killed in a war but rather a collective group of soldiers. This makes it much less personal. No one in the United States has even heard about this "great sacrifice" and Minton lies to "Papa" when he said every school child grew up knowing the great story of the Hundred Martyrs to Democracy.

The Hundred Martyrs to Democracy is Vonnegut's social commentary of war. He finds it ridiculous that human beings must die all for an ideal "cause." These causes that men and women die and fight for are intangible such as "liberty" and "democracy." What do those things mean anyway? They mean so many things to so many people. By the author over exaggerating the ridiculousness of war by using the Hundred Martyrs to Democracy coming from a dictatorship and fighting for democracy, he helps break down the complexity of war into simple and bias terms for the reader.

Passage Analysis: pg 170 Chapter 114

" 'And I propose to you that if we are to pay our sincere respects to the hundred lost children of San Lorenzo, that we might spend the day despising what killed them; which is to say, the stupidity and viciousness of all mankind.' "

This is a great excerpt from the speech Minton made in chapter 114. His speech was given as part of the ceremony for the Hundred Martyrs of Democracy

The way Minton refers to these great Martyrs as "children" helps bring his anti-war idea off quite well. Calling the soldiers children reestablishes to the public that these great martyrs were still human. When the people of San Lorenzo call these soldiers Martyrs, the seem to establish an underlying idea that these men were great heroes and died so honorably for a great cause, and that no one could wish to be honored so extravagantly as these men. Minton's speech brings everyone back to the facts, that these were really people who had their lives stolen from them in war. Calling them "children" makes the reader really be able to feel the innocence that every person contains, whether they are about to go off to war or not. It also adds a sense of background to the people who have died. They are no longer a statistic of one hundred men, but now they are someones child, someones father, someones husband or brother. Minton shows the humanity behind every depressing statistic when he uses the reference of "children,"

Also, when he suggests that they should all spend the day despising what killed these men, he is defining what the true problem is. The problem was not that democracy was in danger or that other countries disagree, the real problem that may be the only problem "worth fighting for (so to speak)" is war itself. Minton is asking them not to hate the reason why the Martyrs died, but to hate the fact that they had to die. This is also a nice compliment to the other themes in the book, one of which is that science and technology has developed incredibly fast and most of it for warfare. If all these new inventions are being created for warfare, why must men even have to go out and fight and die? What technology will take place of the soldier?

In this excerpt of Minton's speech, the words used were chosen very carefully for the sole reason of leaving an impression and feeling upon the reader.


Opinion:
Personally, I really loved this book. Vonnegut made great commentary's on the dangers of being overly committed to science and the dangers of being overly committed to religion. He did this in a humorous and light-hearted way that made the reading fun, but also gave the reader something to think about long after they put the book down. The plot was so bizarre and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. I love how he basically invented his own ridiculous religion which pokes mild fun at many other religions and starts off with "Don't believe a word I tell you, it is all lies." I also like how he ridiculed war and his presentation of it in the book. I think Vonnegut accomplished great writing by first entertaining his reader, and secondly educating them. And who knows? We may not be that far away from inventing ice nine.