God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and published in 1965. The plot focuses on Eliot Rosewater, the primary trustee of the philanthropic Rosewater Foundation whom one of the family lawyers, Norman Mushari, is attempting to have declared insane to enable a more distant relative, Fred Rosewater, an insurance salesman from Rhode Island, to gain control.

Plot introduction

Founded originally to help Rosewater descendants avoid paying taxes on the family estate by Eliot's father, a senator in Rosewater County, Indiana, the Rosewater Foundation is operated by a large legal firm in New York and provides an annual pension of $3 million to Eliot. Eliot had been seen as restless early on trying all the typical things that philanthropists do to help the poor, but he eventually sets out across America, going from small town to small town before landing in the city of Rosewater, Indiana and setting up shop. He calls Rosewater home after becoming a volunteer firefighter in numerous cities across the U.S. This fact, along with his drunkenness, his generous relationship with the poor in Rosewater, and his odd relationship with his French wife make him appear a bit crazy. A conniving lawyer by the name of Mushari has set out to prove him insane so he can collect a portion of the Rosewater fortune for himself during the transfer of it to the unwitting distant cousins in Rhode Island.

The novel is told mostly through a collection of short stories dealing with Eliot's interactions with the citizens of Rosewater County, usually with the last sentence serving as a punch line. The antagonist's tale - Mushari's - is told in a similar short essay fashion. These stories usually reveal different hypocrisies of mankind in a very dark and humorous fashion.

Cameo Appearances

In this novel, Kilgore Trout, the ever-present science fiction writer considered to be Vonnegut's alter-ego, makes an appearance and charms many rich and affluent people including Eliot's father at the end of the novel. Diana Moon Glampers, the handicapper general of the short story Harrison Bergeron, makes an appearance despite the great difference in time frames between Eliot's story and Harrison's.

In Pop Culture

On the cover of the Pearls Before Swine comic strip treasury "The Crass Menagerie" the intellectual, well read character of Goat is seen seated on the right reading the book "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater", which of course has as its alternate title, Pearls Before Swine

Adaptation

The novel was adapted into a musical in 1979. It marked the first collaboration of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman.