Bokononism completes me.

Kurt Vonnegut provides the most vulnerable foma, lie, there is. The foma is depicted by the civilians of San Lorenzo finding peace in the faith of Bokononism.

The main statement that hit me with this belief is at the very beginning of the novel, "Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy." At the point when John reaches San Lorenzo this statement becomes pretty true for the people of San Lorenzo. "When Johnson and McCabe came upon the city, it was built of twigs, tin, crates, and mud... on the catacombs of a trillion happy scavengers...".(133) In this description Vonnegut gives a vivid portrayal of the depressing life of the San Lorenzo civilians. It goes on saying that Johnson and McCabe both tried to rid this island of slime and misery, but their efforts were futile. The truth of reality was making life unbearable for the people of this island. Whether the truth is science or misery it was eating the people inside out. What the people needed was some sort fantasy belief in which this melancholic lifestyle was bearable. Which is exactly what Johnson (Bokonon) does,"...the religion became the one real instrument of hope. Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better lies." (172) Clearly Bokonon is pulling the people out of the dark world of reality and into a world of happiness within the faith of Bokononism.

Vonnegut goes even further by adding of pinch of zest into the faith of Bokononism with the spice brutality. He portrays Bokonon outlawing himself and the religion which will only bring the practitioners of Bokononism to the demise of the hook. Bokonon's lies expand by having people literally executed by the hook and having himself seen as traitor for his faith. With that idea in mind Bokonon only ignited more excitement among the civilians. This was the ultimate trap that would snatch the civilians out of the hands of truth. "So I said good-bye to government, And I gave my reason: That a really good religion Is a form of treason." (173) Since everyone found peace with this religion, then that only meant that everyone was a Bokononist. Though the civilians are terrified of hook, this foma faith of Bokononism is the only realm that allows to escape reality. In the eyes of the civilians truth is brutal and life is short.

Though in his "work of art", he is actually a hero to the civilians and a criminal to the government. As long as Bokonon was in exile the people would not succumb to the brutality of truth. "But people didn't have to pay much attention to the awful truth. As the living legend of the cruel tyrant in the city and the gentle holy man in the jungle grew, so, too, did the happiness of the people grow."(174) This idea of a religion being created in order to establish inner tranquility with one self got me questioning about actual faiths(Christianity, Judaism, Jainism) practiced by people. If Bokononism is founded on lies does that mean that the religions we practice in reality are lies or somewhat true? Do human beings desire to create a religion in order to protect themselves from the horrors of the world? Then would it not make all religions fomas? If that's true I wonder if Vonnegut's point of view on religion is stated by Dr. Koenigswald, " I agree that all religions, including Bokononism, are nothing but lies." (219)