Paragraph Assignment

The basic idea of the topic sentence for the paragraph due at the start of the next class is simple:

     Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is about science and religion.

However, our goal is to begin to use more academic, intellectual, mature language to communicate this basic idea more concisely and completely to provide a fuller suggestion of what exactly our paragraphs will be discussing. For example:

     In Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut critiques the value of science and religion in a society.

     Kurt Vonnegut uses Ice-9 and Bokononism in his novel Cat's Cradle to satirize the role and effects of science and religion in 1960s America.

     Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle examines the dangers of scientific knowledge used irresponsibly and the paradoxical benefits of religion.

     Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut challenges established attitudes toward scientific advances and religious ideology.

Write your own! Use one of these! It only matters that you are gaining experience with and exposure to this more advanced style of composition.

Then write the paragraph. Use details from the novel to support your interpretation of what Vonnegut is saying about the relative virtues of science and religion in contemporary society and their affect on the fate of humankind. Whoa!

Attempt to finish your paragraph with a sentence or two that really gets at the exact heart of Vonnegut's message and what he is trying to accomplish.

Be precise in your wording and phrasing, thorough in the development and demonstration of your ideas through reference to specific characters, quotes, and plot elements in the text.

I know, it's hard. If it was easy, we wouldn't bother doing it because that would mean you already know how.