SparkNotes: Cat's Cradle: Review Quiz

According to Cat's Cradle, what are humanity's biggest problems?

(A) Stupidity

(B) Indifference

(C) Carelessness

(D) All of the above

Which of the following statements describes Felix Hoenikker best?

(A) Felix was a conscientious, brilliant physicist.

(B) Felix acknowledged no moral responsibility for the products of his scientific work.

(C) Felix was an evil man.

(D) None of the above

How would Julian Castle's philosophy best be described?

(A) Julian Castle was nihilist.

(B) Julian Castle believed that all life is sacred.

(C) Julian Castle was a Christian.

(D) None of the above

How would Bokonon's philosophy best be described?

(A) Bokonon was a cynic.

(B) Bokonon was a humanist.

(C) Bokonon believed that life is sacred.

(D) All of the above

What is Bokononism?

(A) Bokononism is a false religion.

(B) Bokononism is a useful religion that is based on lies.

(C) Bokononism is a religion based on total nihilism.

(D) Bokononism is religion that is based on absolute truths.

What does Bokononism provide for its followers?

(A) Bokononism gives its followers the illusion of meaning in their lives..

(B) Bokononism provides its followers with comforting lies.

(C) Bokononism provides its followers with a welcome distraction from their poverty.

(D) All of the above

How is Bokononism different from other religions?

(A) Bokonism is based on animal worship.

(B) Bokononism declares that there is only one god.

(C) Bokononism provides free cookies at its weekly meetings.

(D) Bokononism acknowledges that there are no absolute truths.

What did the Hoenikker siblings try to do with ice-nine?

(A) They tried to rule the world with it.

(B) They tried to buy happiness with it.

(C) They tried to start a war with it.

(D) They tried to destroy it because they recognized that it posed a serious threat to all of humanity.

What did Bokonon think about history?

(A) Bokonon thought history should not be recorded because people copy the mistakes others have made.

(B) Bokonon thought that history was useful because people learned not to repeat the mistakes others have made.

(C) Bokonon believed history was basically useless since people refuse to learn from the mistakes of others.

(D) None of the above

What is the best description of Angela's feelings for her father?

(A) Angela deluded herself into thinking her father was a saintly martyr.

(B) Angela hated her father because he was so indifferent toward her.

(C) Angela was horrified at Felix's careless, irresponsible attitude toward his deadly creations.

(D) None of the above

How would John best be described?

(A) John was more mature and intelligent than the other characters.

(B) John was just as ridiculous, careless, and irresponsible as the other characters.

(C) John was more ridiculous, careless, and irresponsible than the other characters.

(D) None of the above

How would Mona best be described?

(A) Mona was more like an object than a person.

(B) Mona served mostly as a distraction from poverty for the citizens of San Lorenzo.

(C) Mona was the embodiment of male fantasies of women.

(D) All of the above

How would Vonnegut's attitude toward modern technology best be described?

(A) Vonnegut implies that modern technology should be distrusted completely.

(B) Vonnegut recognizes the benefits modern technology can bring to humanity, but he distrusts the destructive potential of some of its products.

(C) Vonnegut portrays modern technology as the panacea to all human problems.

(D) None of the above

How would John's attitude toward Mona best be described?

(A) He was deeply in love with her.

(B) John merely wanted to have sex with her.

(C) John mistook his sexual attraction to Mona for love.

(D) None of the above

Why did John agree to become President of San Lorenzo?

(A) As President, he could marry Mona, the object of his desire.

(B) He felt that he could do a better job than Frank.

(C) He wanted to transform San Lorenzo from a dictatorship into a utopia.

(D) He was power-hungry.

Why did Frank want John to become President of San Lorenzo in his place?

(A) Frank felt that John could do a better job as President.

(B) Frank wanted to enjoy all the creature comforts without having to take on any human responsibilities.

(C) Frank was afraid to have so much power.

(D) None of the above

What did Lowe and Hazel symbolize?

(A) Platonic love

(B) The American dream

(C) American hypocrisy

(D) European worldliness

What does the game of cat's cradle symbolize?

(A) Evil

(B) The tendency of human beings to read false meaning into the world

(C) Indifference

(D) None of the above

What did the Hundred Martyrs to Democracy symbolize?

(A) The wasteful loss of life in war

(B) The cruel absurdity of patriotism

(C) Human stupidity

(D) All of the above

Why did McCabe outlaw Bokononism on San Lorenzo?

(A) Bokonon asked him to do so.

(B) He wanted San Lorenzo to be a Christian country.

(C) He hated Bokonon.

(D) Bokononism caused too much strife and violence on the island.

How would San Lorenzo's criminal justice system best be described?

(A) It was a fair, well-designed system.

(B) It was an extremely lenient system.

(C) It was a brutal system of capital punishment for all crimes, no matter how minor.

(D) None of the above

Why did "Papa" Monzano adopt Mona?

(A) He felt sorry for her after she became an orphan.

(B) Mona's father named Monzano as her legal guardian before his death.

(C) He wanted to raise his popularity, so he adopted Mona and made her into a national erotic symbol.

(D) He married Mona's mother after Mona's father died.

Why did Asa Breed's son quit his job at the Research Laboratory?

(A) He and Asa had a falling out.

(B) After Hiroshima was bombed, he felt that everything a scientist did would be turned into a weapon.

(C) He felt that he had done enough for his country, so he decided to follow his life's dream of becoming a sculptor.

(D) He no longer found science interesting.

What does Cat's Cradle say about the search for knowledge and understanding?

(A) Human beings have an intense need for knowledge and understanding of the world.

(B) Science is an endeavor for knowledge, but human beings often use the discoveries of science for destructive purposes.

(C) What human beings consider knowledge and understanding is often an illusion.

(D) All of the above

What does Frank's exquisitely detailed model in Jack's Hobby Shop symbolize?

(A) Frank's sensitive, thoughtful nature

(B) Frank's careless, indifferent attitude toward the real world

(C) Frank's commitment to making the real world a better place

(D) None of the above