The Human Condition

Regardless of the lessons taught by aphorisms one encounters throughout their lifetime, the most
important condition is the timeless quality of said moral truths. No matter how much one tries to shed
these truths, we cannot effectively evade them just because they are timeless. We see in modern fairy tales
that evil cannot prosper; we see in religion that indulgence is not a desirable trait; and we see that in
classic novels, love is a bittersweet, fickle concept. Had these adages in history been ephemeral, the moral
truths would not hold real for us and thus, the audience would become uninterested and lost, being unable
to sympathize with the novel. Thus, in particular, there is no doubt that Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and
Art Spiegelman's Maus appropriately supply the audience with timeless truths that allow the readers to
reflect on ourselves and humanity as a whole. Within both novels, the perils of human stupidity, the
pervasiveness of ideologies and our lack of regard for moderating the destructiveness of technology leave
the audience with a resounding and ominous message: we are the only ones who have the power to
change our actions for the moral good or bad; and subsequently, the fate of ourselves as a whole. Yet, in
moderation, we should neither fear nor despair at the idea of catastrophe. Thus, we must understand our
human condition, the unique qualities that constitute a human.
Human stupidity does not resound in other novels quite as much as Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle does.
We see the myriad of actions that could have prevented the imminent destruction of the world. We see a
protagonist, Dr. Hoenikker, who willingly experiments with ice-nine without taking preventive measures
and dies at the hands of the chemical, leaving his frozen body and his experiments for his children to see
and take. The sheer absurdity of the situation leaves the audience wondering, "Was that really necessary?"
Had the brilliant scientist, ironically so, taken safety precautions and thought about the consequences of
his actions, ice-nine would not have been so readily available to the world. Near the conclusion of the
novel, the world unfortunately meets its demise as all forms of water turns into this isotope. The main
protagonist, Jonah, mentions how "The ragged rim of oblivion was now inches from my toes... There was
a sound like that of the gentle closing of a portal as big as the sky, the great door of heaven being close
softly. It was a great AH-WHOOM... all the sea was ice-nine" (pages 259-261). Not only does the author
and the protagonist mention that the cause of human demise was its own stupidity, he actually
characterizes the ensuing events in a hellish way. We see the gates of oblivion as the portal of heaven
gently closes as the dwindling salvation for humanity is no more. Vonnegut does an expert performance
of human stupidity as nothing quite enhances the gravity of the situation as does the words "[backing]
away from the abyss, full of dread" (page 260). Although this is not a treatise on fixing human stupidity, it
is a great form and time to reflect on our actions as society as a whole. The rapture released unto the
world in Cat's Cradle is only performed by the one and only human-kind; and as a result, the only way to
prevent such from happening is only through our own actions as well. In comparison, the non-fictional
tale of Spiegelman's Maus provides the audience with a tangible result. Albeit it may be cruel to call those

living under Nazi Germany as "stupid", only through the lack of action by the governments and the mere
fact that people allowed the Holocaust to continue is an act of human stupidity. Countless number of
people that helped the Nazi regime wasn't exactly in it to spread the movement but rather to save
themselves. The act of suppressing one's own judgment and bolstering self-preservation is human
stupidity: "Several times the Jewish Police came to our house. Some Jews thought this way. If they gave a
few Jews to the Germans, they can save themselves" (page 87). Self-preservation is well documented and
understood, but Spiegelman emphasizes the instances in which many Jews thought it appropriate that they
would receive better treatment if they figuratively and literally "ratted out" the other Jews amongst them .
What an unfortunate circumstance that people thought to cloud their own judgment? Again, it is harsh to
call such human stupidity as many people were forced to rat out other people, and where action was a
necessity. However, on humanity's behalf, it is disrespectful and shameful that the snowballing-effect of
murdering and torturing people was allowed to continue. It was stupid. On a relatable level, we can
sympathize with those affected by the Holocaust: the torturing, the cruelty, the viciousness, etc...
Therefore it is only our right that we should think to fix the condition of human stupidity so that such an
event can be prevented.
Not only that, but also the dangers regarding reckless and malicious use of technology and
weapons are impending and only confirm our close proximity to self-destruction. Dr. Breed only
confirms this notion, prior to the ultimate downfall of Earth, by noting that a marine with ice-nine, "', a
new way for the atom of water to stack and lock...And the pools and streams in the frozen much [would
freeze]'"(pages 47-48) and would cause our own self-destruction. The atomic bomb, under similar
circumstances, was developed in order to test the magnitude of the strength of humanity. However, also
under similar circumstances, it was scrutinized for having immeasurable power that would wreak havoc
upon the locations that it would strike. And it did. Hiroshima and Nagasaki endured the extreme power of
the bomb in all of its glory. Despite its capabilities of ending war, it inevitably brought with it a weapons
war, culminating in rapid development in technology and science. And even though science and
technology can improve humankind, we cannot ignore the destruction it can cause too. With the advent of
nuclear technology, the bombs only serve to demonstrate the power of humanity. No, not the sheer power,
but the power of humanity to kill and undo itself. With Cat's Cradle, as aforementioned, we already
know the conclusion: the world is turned into ice-nine. Although humanity may not develop science to
such an extent, the novel only characterizes and figuratively shows that humanity has the capabilities of
ending itself. We can see in the real world in Maus that science can be used detrimentally as well.
Spiegelman chronicle's his father's journey through concentration camps in his novel as he narrates how
"[he] lived and worked a few weeks in the stable until they took [him] to an even bigger prisoner of war
camp" (page 53). We see that the development of Zyklon B to murder people efficiently and quickly is not

necessarily through malicious intent. However, the usage of Zyklon B to do what it did was the issue at
hand: mass murders are much more accessible. Science always has the capacity to bequeath its damage to
society. However, humanity must keep it in moderation out of necessity to survive.
Neither stupidity nor reckless use of technology is inherently innocent nor evil; however, we must
note that what we do with it and our actions can determine the subsequent morality of our doings. Felix
Hoenniker, despite his intentions to improve scientific knowledge (albeit doing so like a living husk)
innocently helped create the largest weapon of mass destruction. Marvin, who recounts his experiences
with Dr. Hoenikker, question how "'the hell innocent is a man who helps make a thing like an atomic
bomb?"(page 68). In his reckless abandon, he ultimately creates ice-nine, improperly leaves it out when
he perishes and consequently leads to the destruction of the world. We cannot categorize his actions as
"evil" however. Had he intentionally wished for the annihilation of the world, we could maybe understand
his actions as evil. However, albeit clumsy and reckless, we can modestly interpret his actions as
innocent. Contrary to popular belief though, innocence, as we have seen, does not necessarily equate to a
beneficial contributor to the world. We also see in Maus that, "Several times the Jewish Police came to
our house. Some Jews thought this way. If they gave a few Jews to the Germans, they can save
themselves" (page 87). Again, despite their actions being detrimental to their society, they were not
produced out of ill will and cannot be considered morally bad. Much at the same time, we also note the
anecdote from Maus how Vladek, "then from far, [he] saw Ilzecki walking, so [he] went hasty over to
him...Ilzecki lived in a very fancy house...he survived me my life that time"(page 80), and the audience
sees how the well-intentions of Ilzecki helped Vladek avoid persecution, even if it meant Ilzecki himself
being persecuted. We cannot control everyone's convictions, hence we cannot judge others' convictions as
well. We cannot deem the actions of the few people who ratted others out as morally bad, but rather out of
fear, out of survival, out of human stupidity.
Much as we cannot judge those of scientific backgrounds as morally good or bad, we also cannot
categorize religious organizations as the same. No religious and racial group is inherently innocent nor
evil. Yet, we cannot refute that both groups spread ideologies throughout society quickly and radically. In
its mob mentality, a community in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle killed a man as "' He was roasted for
murdering his son. Only, after they roasted him,' Hazel recalled blandly, 'they found out he hadn't
murdered his son after all.'" (page 95). We see that, even though neither a religious nor a racial group, the
radical large group's ideas spread to new extremes, quickly pervading through the air. Even though that
their unnecessary actions lead to the death of an innocent man. we cannot categorize every member in the
group and automatically consider them "morally bad" nor can we even classify the group as a whole
necessarily bad. Technically, the Nazi party was simply the National Socialist German Workers' Party in
which many people, through propaganda, truly believed that the moral good was being carried out by the
party and that the actions of Nazi Germany during World War II was rightfully justified. In Maus, we note

the random Germans that treat the Jews with relative kindness. When Vladek is repossessed by the Nazi
Germans, the Germans yell "'You cheated us last time, Jew!' 'Wait! I haven't been paid yet.' 'Please, If you
want to stay alive go back inside.'"(page 79). In this brief conversation, we receive a subtle nuance of
kindness from the German. Despite the allegations and atrocious accusations by the Germans against the
Jews, we still see the acts of kindness from the Germans. This only furthers the proof that not necessarily
were all Germans, even if they were part of the Nazi party, bad. All radical ideologies spread rapidly, but
this does not guarantee their spread to every mind in the entity. We also see in Cat's Cradle a fabricated
religion called Bokononism become the dominant ideology on the Island of San Lorenzo. Despite what
we have seen throughout the Holocaust (especially with the persecution of the Jewish by the Christian
Germans), here the religion acts as a counterexample: a beneficial and stimulating form of beliefs. Even
though we typically archetype religion as a negative entity, the island of San Lorenzo is ironically fine
until the introduction of science and technology as the root of the world's collapse begins here when the
ice-nine is brought onto the island. Vonnegut cleverly infuses the reversal of roles in order to bring
attention to the fact that no ideology is necessary safe from innocence nor evil. It is the implementation of
ideology and its usage to prove and justify one's own actions when it becomes a critical matter between
doing something "good" or "bad." Regardless of whether the actions are "good or bad", however, only the
actions and the people that perform them have impact on human society.
The human condition is difficult to master. If controlling human stupidity and keeping it
contained was easy; if holding technology and weapons in moderation while in competition against other
countries was easy; if categorizing all humans as "good or bad" was easy, we would have done so many
years ago. It is the mastery of the human condition, the innate capacities of the human, that is what keeps
us as humans occupied. As evidenced by Maus and Cat's Cradle, a catastrophe is easy to create through a
combination of human stupidity, arrogance, technology, and radicalizing ideologies. However, preventing
a catastrophe is nearly as simply creating one: analyze our own human condition. With understanding our
human condition, we see our own faults and self-correct. Without the capacity to do so, we are left in the
dark in terms of understanding the imminent danger that we put ourselves in. Fortunately, we do have the
capacity. Unfortunately, Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle supplemented by Maus offer a grim reminder that we
have yet to understand the full extent our human condition, and unlike the timeless aphorisms we
embrace, our time is quite fleeting.