Although John ridicules materialistic and pompous Americans throughout the novel, he shares in privilege himself, as a Cornell graduate and fraternity member. John is not wealthy at this point, but his penury is voluntary, because he chooses the life of a freelance writer.
John is working on a novel called The Day the World Ended, about Aug. 6, 1945. He is detailing the events surrounding the U.S. dropping a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. John's non-fiction work brings him in contact with the Hoenikker family and eventually takes him to San Lorenzo, where he becomes a convert to the Bokonon religion.
John is originally from Indiana, although he currently lives in Chicago. Although John's last name is never specified in the novel, it is carved on the base of a 100-year-old angel tombstone that.....
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