Handshakes over Ceremonies

Today universal norms and expectations exist among differing cultures.  Kurt Vonnegut portrays such universals in his novel Cat's Cradle while also mocking those that try too hard to meet them.  One such norm that occurs everywhere: presenting one's guests.  Governments make such an event of this norm when hosting a gathering and in Cat's Cradle the San Lorenzans tried to do just so and present their American guests in a politely eventful fashion.  Of course situations like these can go awry and end in awkwardly amusing moments for the audience.  I found myself awkwardly amused at the San Lorenzans attempt.  To set the stage the Americans arrive by plane to Bolivar, the capital of San Lorenzo.  The American visitors include a businessman and his wife, a writer, relatives of a San Lorenzo resident, and the new ambassador to the United States accompanied by his spouse, in other words, a real star-studded group.  To the President of San Lorenzo the only appropriate way to welcome their guests was to emulate the greeting of The Beatles that just arrived on a flight from London.  Unfortunately, instead of screaming female superfans, the American visitors had to settle for impoverished, unbathed San Lorenzans dressed in loincloths.  When Vonnegut described the appearance of the crowd I thought of a boy band jumping on stage for a performance on MTV's TRL... not.  I chuckled at the awkward situation the visitors had fallen into.  Vonnegut explains the nature of the crowd, "quiet," and adds to the awkwardness when "someone coughed--and that was all" (136).  I felt a sense of the awkwardness and had sympathy for the visitors as empathy reminded me of the feeling.  I could not help but laugh at the scene.  To make things more entertaining for those that only had to read about the moment, President "Papa" of San Lorenzo addresses the wrong "'Mr. Ambassador,'" even after proclaiming San Lorenzo "'the best friend America ever had'" (141).  Vonnegut's utilization of situational irony makes an audience member laugh at the treatment of what just an acquaintance of San Lorenzo may receive.  I may have found the moment so entertaining simply because I have experienced my fair share of awkward moments.  Maybe I am immature for laughing at awkward situations, but such situations teach lessons and change one's thoughts about some universal norms.  A reader should take from this situation: 1.) That one should avoid throwing the "best friend" title around casually. 2.) A proper, firm handshake and personal introductions work as well as a publicized welcoming ceremony complete with a national anthem and 5,000 silent, uninformed audience members.  The author uses satiric techniques to provide such lessons through means of mocking audience members that may have sparked such awkward situations in the past, while he also encourages the understanding of the boundaries of universal norms and expectations.