God bless you, Mr Rosewater

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1965. It is the story of Eliot Rosewater, a millionaire who develops a social conscience, abandons New York City, and establishes the Rosewater Foundation in Rosewater, Indiana, “where he attempts to dispense unlimited amounts of love and limited sums of money to anyone who will come to his office.” (Schatt, Stanley (1976). Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. University of Houston. Sourced from Wikipedia).

The name Eliot Rosewater suggests a yoking together of opposites. “Eliot” connects the young altruist to T.S. Eliot and his depiction of modern life as a spiritual wasteland devoid of love but surfeited with lust. “Rosewater” can be seen as a combination of the names of the liberal Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the conservative Barry Goldwater. “It becomes apparent that Vonnegut was very much aware of the 1964 Election of a Presidentwhile writing this novel.” Schatt, Stanley (1976). Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. University of Houston (Sourced from Wikipedia)