Cat's Cradle Characters

Meet the Cast

John

Cat's Cradle wouldn't be Cat's Cradle without old Johnny boy here. John is our narrator and protagonist, and as such, he's fairly important to the novel. You know, just a little.Writer and AuthorHe...

Dr. Felix Hoenikker

Dr. Felix Hoenikker has some powerful genes: he's the father of Newt, Angela, and Frank; and he's also the father of the atomic bomb. No wonder his presence looms over the novel, even though he's b...

Bokonon

For a guy who only shows up in the last chapter, Lionel Boyd Johnson—we mean, Bokonon—has his finger in a pretty big pie. FigureheadBokonon is the head honcho of Bokononism, the religion of the...

Newt Hoenikker

Newt is a midget and the youngest of the Hoenikker children. He's got kind of a bummer of a life story: after being kicked out of Cornell, he eloped with midget dancer named Zinka who left him afte...

Frank Hoenikker

Oh, the middle child. Just ask us about being a middle child. He was "Papa" Monzano's choice for third President of San Lorenzo, but Frank turned down the position and gave the job to John ins...

Angela Hoenikker

And poor Angela is the eldest Hoenikker kid, which means everything falls on her shoulders. After Emily's death, she became caregiver to Frank, Newt, and even her father. Then after her father's de...

Dr. Asa Breed

Asa is the vice president of the Research Laboratory at General Forge. Dr. Breed takes John on a tour of the facility and lets John interview him about Dr. Felix Hoenikker—until he becomes angry...

H. Lowe & Hazel Crosby

Mr. and Mrs. Crosby are American caricatures through and through. Mr. Crosby owns a bicycle factory that he plans to move to San Lorenzo because the Chicago workers "sit around trying to figure out...

Mona Aamons Monzano

Mona is…um…Mona is Mona. That's perhaps the best way to put it really. She's a knockout, bombshell of a woman, and John falls for her when he sees her picture in the newspaper. (For her intelle...

Minor Characters

Horlick & Claire MintonMr. Minton is ambassador for the United States to the island of San Lorenzo. He and his wife arrive on the plane with John. Here, we learn that Mr. Minton was fired from...