President Johnny Gentle Character Analysis in Infinite Jest

Gentle is a former lounge singer who successfully ran for President of the United States. Under his regime O.N.A.N. is formed and the Great Concavity is given to Canada; however, Gentle himself is shown to be rather clueless (even seems to go insane), and the mastermind behind these acts is Rodney Tine, Sr.

President Johnny Gentle Character Timeline in Infinite Jest

The timeline below shows where the character President Johnny Gentle appears in Infinite Jest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The film features a lounge singer and B movie actor called Johnny Gentle who became President of the U.S., and it mixes historical facts with Mario’s own inventions.... (full context)

Reality as Corporate Dystopia Theme Icon

...the emergence of birth defects in babies born near the Great Concavity, and the President Gentle administration’s denial that anything shady was afoot. Having initially denied the existence of the Great... (full context)

In Mario’s representation of the meeting between Gentle’s cabinet, the President of Mexico, the P.M. of Canada, and various other statesmen, Mr. Rodney... (full context)

Addiction, Mental Illness, and Suicide Theme Icon

More headlines describe Gentle’s effort to force Canada to accept the “gift” of the Great Concavity, despite the Canadian... (full context)

...The enormously successful ad exec P. Tom Veals, on learning about the lounge singer Johnny Gentle, decided to serve as the manager of his presidential campaign. (full context)

...still playing, and the E.T.A. audience members are getting increasingly fidgety. Headlines announce that President Gentle is “more or less at large.” The U.S. is experiencing an economic downturn, and Luria... (full context)

Extreme measures have had to be taken to prevent President Gentle from acting on his wish to see the Entertainment himself. The intelligence community as a... (full context)