Something Interesting...

[Jules10110]

Hello to all of the members of my karass. I've just finished a 10 page
term paper on KV. It was the most fun I've had writing a term paper,
specifically because I could dwell on the wisdom and overall goodness of
Vonnegut's prose. Here is something I found in my secondary research that
I thought was interesting. It was in "Two or Three Things I Know about
Vonnegut's Imagination" by Tim Hildebrand in The Vonnegut Statement:
" 'Now you folks come on and be happy, come on and be happy.' That's a
quote from a speech delivered by Lyndon Baines Johnson, in St. Louis,
October 21, 1964. Bokonon's real name: Lionel Boyd Johnson."

[Henry McGrattan]

LBJ! Never thought of it as I've read KV and I've wondered about the
key to Bokonon's identity. I can't see Kurt missing the association
you mention. He is too much of a weaver to miss any thread.

Can you post your paper as an attachment here? I'd like to read it.
Or post it as a message. Or e-mail it to us. Hope you got an A+.

>October 21, 1964. Bokonon's real name: Lionel Boyd Johnson."

Henry McGrattan:

E-mail: h...@globalserve.net
or: henry.m...@ablelink.org

Web page: http://www.globalserve.net/~hm

[ale...@netvision.net.il]

Jules wrote

> Hello to all of the members of my karass. I've just finished a 10 page
> term paper on KV. It was the most fun I've had writing a term paper,
> specifically because I could dwell on the wisdom and overall goodness of
> Vonnegut's prose. Here is something I found in my secondary research that
> I thought was interesting. It was in "Two or Three Things I Know about
> Vonnegut's Imagination" by Tim Hildebrand in The Vonnegut Statement:
> " 'Now you folks come on and be happy, come on and be happy.' That's a
> quote from a speech delivered by Lyndon Baines Johnson, in St. Louis,

> October 21, 1964. Bokonon's real name: Lionel Boyd Johnson."

Of course everybody winks when Bokonon's real name is
mentioned. LBJ was the vice president until Kennedy was
asassinated (and I think Cat's Cradle was written during
Kennedy's presidency). As for what he said in St Louis:
at the very same time he was sending US boys by the
planeload to Vietnam, their number heavily slanted by race
and income, to meet a people fighting for its independence
- and bomb them to death with bombings, fuel-air, napalm
and other means of mass destruction.
I would bet the symbolic dime that KV's current opinion
about Mr Johnson's role in history would preempt the former
President from becoming the inspiration for anything comic,
or satiric any of us could ever write.

Replies welcome... Alex