The allegory of the ice-nine in Cat's Cradle and its return to the economic area in The Road to Ruin

The purpose of this article is to investigate the concept of the ice-nine, both in the literary work of Kurt Vonnegut and in its reapplication in the field of economics by James Rickards. The study, structured in two parts and based on bibliographical research, seeks to explore these themes. The first part, entitled "The ice-nine in Cat's Cradle ", examines the context in which the ice-nine appears in Vonnegut's novel, using as theoretical support authors such as Mikhail Bakhtin (2002, 2013), who addresses the methodology for the study of the novel and the polyphonic characteristic in Dostoevsky's work; Lélia Parreira Duarte (1994), who explores the function of irony; Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2008), who discusses the crisis of the modern scientific paradigm; as well as Flávio R. Kothe (1986) and João Adolfo Hansen (2006), who deal with allegory. The second part, entitled "James Rickards' adaptation of the ice-nine", analyzes the appropriation of the concept in economic discourse and its new meaning in this context. This analysis is based on authors such as Edward Said (2011), who discusses culture and imperialism; Walter Mignolo (2002), who explores the creation of the imaginary within the colonial/modern system; D.N. McCloskey (1996) and Pérsio Arida (2003), who investigate the use of rhetoric and methodological debates in economics; and Thiago Martins Prado (2020), who reflects on the use of literary strategies in economic discourses.