When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
King Herod
Bill wakes from Johnny's assault with a slingshot, and tells Sam that "his favorite Biblical character" (39) is King Herod.
Herod was a Roman-appointed King of the Jews who built the walls of Jericho, expanded the Temple mount and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem, and built his vacation home at Masada. All three of these places fell victim to destruction of, um, Biblical proportions, which gives it an ironic punch considering Bill's current predicament.
However, King Herod is perhaps best known for his section in the Gospel of Matthew: the Massacre of the Innocents. Herod asks the Magi to seek out the new infant King. He lies to the wise men about his intent to worship the child, in hopes of killing the infant before he becomes a problem. After the Magi depart to tell Herod of the child's whereabouts, an Angel appears to Joseph and urges the family to flee to save the child from Herod. This is why Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus fled to Egypt where they stayed until Herod's death. When Herod discovered that the child was gone, he ordered the deaths of all children under the age of two in all of Bethlehem (King James Bible, Matthew 2:13-18). Again, we can pretty much understand Bill's homicidal urge to murder a child, considering… well, you know.
Historical References
Bedlam
"One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in Bedlam." (91)
The Bethlem Royal Hospital, popularly known as "Bedlam," was the first institution dedicated to the treatment of mental illness. It was founded in 1247 in the City of London, England. Early mental treatment was often little more than institutionalized torture. Patients were chained to walls and kept in cages. The hospital itself has relocated several times and has practiced many different philosophies of mental care. It still exists as an absorbed entity along with several other clinics united under the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, but the name has stuck and today the word "bedlam" refers to general chaos and insanity. For some reason, Bill thought of it at the end of his ordeal with Johnny. Hmmm….
Pop Culture References
"Great Pirates of Penzance!" (87)
This phrase makes a lovely stand in for the four-letter words that Sam might have used otherwise. It refers to a comic opera from Gilbert and Sullivan that first premiered in New York City in 1879. It has become a classic of the genre, thanks to its catchy tunes and general absurdity. It even produced a movie adaptation starring a very young Kevin Kline.