Love. A simple but at the same time complicated emotion. How can an emotion that supposedly brings so much happiness and joy also carry some of the worst characteristics of today's world and lead to such a catastrophe? The charged concept of love and the problems that seem to arise from it or, to be more specific, the pursuit of it are all explored in Cat's Cradle. Kurt Vonnegut uses various characters within the text to demonstrate the different types of love through their unique quest to achieve it and the resolution of that desired quest. Newt, seen as an outcast, represents the part of the population that seeks companionship from the outside in. On the other hand, John apparently has no aspiration to find companionship, but more of a need after getting caught up in lust for a girl. as often happens nowadays. Finally, Felix is ​​the symbol of those who neglect family and friends, caring only about what is directly in front of them. Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle demonstrates how the tortuous path to finding one of life's greatest treasures, love, can lead to total destruction or humiliation as it exposes underlying problems in society. This is demonstrated firsthand by Newt's desire to connect with Zinka who turns out to be a complete impostor. Love, or more accurately described as infatuation, can describe the lust John feels for Mona simply by seeing a single image of the woman and Felix's love of knowledge will ultimately lead to literal destruction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The desire to connect with others has been sought by all of humanity. When you are seen as an outcast, it creates a difficult and lonely path to companionship and can lead you to do questionable things. Newt symbolizes everything that comes to mind when talking about the term outcast and is Vonnegut's way of demonstrating the dangers of love when you are so vulnerable. To some extent he is considered a weak and insignificant person and this may have been a result of his short stature. When someone is constantly mistreated and receives hateful verbal insults, the person's soul begins to change. This all comes back to how vulnerable every person is deep inside, and when love mixes into the equation, it's bound to end in disaster. As Newt writes the letter to John, he acknowledges the fact that he has been able to see how others perceive that he is simply living life pitying himself. However, he quickly changes course and claims to have found love. “I'm actually a very lucky person and I know it. I'm about to marry a wonderful little girl. There is enough love in this world for everyone, if only people would look. I am proof of this” (18). The only problem was, Newt didn't even need to look. By what seemed like an extreme coincidence a girl came to him and no doubt took advantage of Newt to get information about her father's work. Zinka, the alleged 23-year-old girl, was actually a 42-year-old spy. The only explanation was that she sensed Newt's vulnerability as he longed for love and exposed him in cold blood. Newt was so hopeful that he had finally found love, he let his guard down without hesitation and this hurt him in the long run as he was taken aback by the game's ending. Relationship Development, by Rebecca B. Rubin, shows how you might prevent such a situation from occurring. “The research also examined five main strategies for reducing uncertainty: questioning, self-disclosure, detection of deception, environmental structuring, and deviance testing” (Rubin).With the life Newt was living, he had no chance of being able to gain true certainty. He was lost in the game of love because of his vulnerability. Newt says it best when he realizes what happened and reflects on his heartbreak. “In this world, you get what you pay for” (128). How many times in today's world is true, eternal love mistaken for infatuation? This superficial “form” of love is terrible in our society today as it has the potential to be the origin of madness and tinkering with the already too easily conformed human mind. He really dabbles with the concept of love at first sight and whether this is a real phenomenon. John experiences this firsthand when he sees a photo of Mona, or so he thinks. From the moment he first lays eyes on her, the seemingly level-headed John begins to think irrationally as the focus of his soul captures Mona's attention. Under no circumstances would he have accepted the offer to become dictator of San Lorenzo if it were not for his clouded judgment caused by infatuation. It lowered John's decision making and reasoning right before the reader's eyes and it was evident that the deception of love mixed with his love of Mona's appearance demonstrates the effects of this guilt: “The Fata Morgana, the mirage of what it would be like to be loved by Mona Aamons Monzano, had become a tremendous force in my senseless life. I imagined that she could make me much happier than any woman had so far managed to do” (85). The logic John uses in his thought process is obviously flawed and exemplified by the way he uses words like “imagined.” This is a cause for concern as it is evident that his hope of gaining Mona's love is ruining his inhibitions. Events like this are present everywhere in the world today and especially in our media. Even political figures like Bill Clinton were slain by the sword of infatuation that led him to commit many wrongdoings in front of a national audience. “Clinton is burdened by history as a post-civil rights president bearing the trauma of a degraded America” (Melissa Deem). Going against all moral codes, Clinton got caught up in the infatuation/love mess and ended up causing a disaster for all of America. John does this on a much smaller scale, but in the long run it leads to Mona's death and the destruction of San Lorenzo. This shows how a simple mixture of the true definition of love can end in such pain. Lust Balance, by Cas Wouters, shows readers how easy this mix really is and how you get back to finding the fine line of what true love really is. “The concept of lust balance refers to the social organization and related social codes (ideals and practices) regarding the relationship between the desire for sexual gratification and the desire for lasting relational intimacy” (Wouters). The glaring problem in today's world is that so many have difficulty distinguishing the two, hence the cause of all the problems, as John best demonstrates. The love of knowledge has the power to prevail over all other forms of love. This presents many dangers as it introduces the concept of loving non-material objects over people. This particular path is dark and problematic as it leads to abandonment among other fatal traits. Felix Hoenikker is the symbol of all things overlooked and it is so evident through his interactions with his family. Felix seemed to be in his own little world, with no regard for human interaction and was simply concerned with whatever scientific task was directly in front of him. The duties of a father, a husband or even a person in society 2015