nov 13th open prompt

1984. Select a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

            Quirky and odd pieces of literature tend to be very memorable for the reader.  Few pieces of literature are able to match the level of oddity and randomness of Cat’s Cradle by Curt Vonnegut.  The passage in which Ice-9 is dropped into the ocean and results in the end of all life is a particularly memorable passage from that novel.  This passage results in the culmination of the destructive behavior of humans, a theme constantly described throughout the novel, and is especially powerful in demonstrating this due to poignant use of imagery and details by Vonnegut.  

            The passage in which Ice-9 is accidentally dropped into the ocean is the logical conclusion to the series of events that lead up to this point, and demonstrates the true nature of people to cause undue harm upon themselves.  Earlier in the novel, the protagonist mentions the possible creation of Ice-9, but is skeptical about its existence.  Ice-9 is crystal that is able to freeze any water it comes into contact with, and therefore has potential to freeze over the entire world.  He demonstrates a lot of concern about this mysterious compound created by a world renowned nuclear physicist because it has the potential to quite literally end all life on the planet. The protagonist grapples throughout the novel with this man’s ability to create such powerful weapons and allow them to be unleashed upon the world.  He is a staunch critic of such inhumane action, and really much of Cat’s Cradle is a criticism of such action.  There is a startling connection between the local strongman dictator of a Caribbean island and this man who creates such powerful weapons.  When Ice-9 is finally released into the water and causes the entire world to freeze over, the inevitable future finally occurs.  It seems almost impossible that by creating such a weapon and leaving it out in the world that a positive result could come out of it.  This represents the ignorance of the creator to the true nature of the human race.  People are not careful enough or logical enough to possess such immense power to destroy their world.  This criticism of Ice-9 is can be carried over very easily to the idea of nuclear weapons; they too possess potential to absolutely annihilate all life on this planet.  Overall this passage in which the world is literally destroyed before the protagonist’s eyes is the culmination of the dangerous and foolish work of a genius who was unaware of the true nature of human beings.  However this event clearly exposes the true nature of humans and the potential they have for destruction. 

            This passage is so effective in demonstrating the destructive potential of humans by creating a truly terrible scenario, almost worse than anything nuclear weapons could cause.  The entire world literally freezes over due to Ice-9, all bodies of water are instantly frozen.  Anyone to come into contact with Ice-9 is also instantly frozen solid.  The actual event unfolds in a predictable and almost slow motion event.  The reader is aware the entire time what is going to happen, and when the Ice-9 crystal plummets toward the water below, the reader with out a doubt feels a sense of “I told you so”.  This technique to set up the signs well before the event is a powerful technique for the criticism of human nature, because just with the weapons people currently possess, the signs of possible destruction are imminent and obvious.  The imagery of the post apocalyptic world is truly memorable.  A frozen over world, everything that contained water is completely frozen solid.  Only cement is untouched and allows the protagonist to attempt to navigate the barren world.  This is especially memorable to the reader and the idea that the protagonist must spend the rest of his days avoiding dying by being frozen and trapped in a whole with a rag tag group of survivors that he knew from before the incident seems beyond terrible.  This is truly a memorable passage that is extremely effective in culminating the criticisms of Vonnegut into one powerful event that makes readers remember and feel similarly to Vonnegut in terms of his ideas of the danger of the human race.