Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankenhooker  The first reported case of AIDS in the US wasn't until 1981, a recent forensic study narrowed down the first actual case to 1968, but Schlesinger wouldn't of had any idea about the disease and the novel was written in 1965.
In the book Ratso dies of Pneumonia because of his living conditions. |
That's a good point – I'd forgotten about her recent – relatively speaking – AIDS is. When watching the film, I'd always assumed Ratso died because his immune system was heavily compromised by HIV or AIDS, hence the reason he succumbed to pneumonia.