Pages 473-482

This page-by-page annotation is organized by sections, as delineated by the seven squares (sprockets) which separate each section. The page numbers for this page-by-page annotation are for the original Viking edition (760 pages). Editions by other publishers vary in pagination — the newer Penguin editions are 776 pages; the Bantam edition is 886 pages.

Contributors: Please use a 760-page edition (either the original Viking edition with the orange cover or the Penguin USA edition with the blue cover and rocket diagram — there are plenty on Ebay for around $10) or search the Google edition for the correct page number. Readers: To calculate the Bantam edition use this formula: Bantam page # x 1.165. Before p.50 it's about a page earlier; as you get later in the book, add a page.

Finally, profound thanks to Prof. Don Larsson for providing the foundation for this page-by-page annotation.

Page 473

473.05 why is Slothrop drawling this way?
A good question, but the drawl does imitate American actor John Wayne’s speech patterns.

Page 474

474.39 She got the idea somewhere that she was Jewish
Like Leni (the other end of the movie triangle with Pokler at its apex), Greta is fascinated by the Otherness of the Jews. Leni come to assimilate that Otherness as victim, in Dora; Greta, on the other hand, makes herself embody the antisemitic "blood libels" of child sacrifice. See note at 159.38.

Page 480

480.23 the face of a Jonah
According to the Book of Jonah in the Bible, 4:1-17, Jonah attempted to flee from his duty to God, causing a storm to nearly capsize the ship that he was on. Hence, his name has become a slang term for someone who is a jinx, especially on a ship.