Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Satire involves the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to critique flaws and vices, often in a political context. Nationalism is the tendency to support the interests of one country over all others.

• How does Vonnegut use satire to critique nationalism in Cat’s Cradle? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 scenes in which Vonnegut exposes the flaws he sees in nationalistic thinking. Be sure to specify how he uses humor to highlight specific flaws.
• In your conclusion, clarify Vonnegut’s overall message about nationalism: What is his main point?

2. Throughout Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut demonstrates and comments on the role of art, including painting, music, and literature, in society.

• What role does art (of any medium) play in the lives of one or more characters in Cat’s Cradle? (topic sentence)
• Identify and analyze at least 3 places in the book where characters create, consume, or discuss some form of artistic expression: What value does art bring to the creator, the audience, and to society?
• In your conclusion, compare your experience reading Cat’s Cradle to Vonnegut’s views about the role of art in human society: Does your experience match? Why or why not?