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<DIV>As I read the second chapter (pp. 7 - 16), I wonder how much of an influence Heller's _Catch-22_ would have been an influence on Pynchon's writing at this stage of the writing process (assuming, of course -- and it's not necessarily a correct assumption) that these earlier chapters may have been written in part sometime in the early- to mid-Sixties. The exchanges between Pirate and Teddy Bloat, especially on p. 8, seem to have that Heller tone (e.g., "Bloat is sitting on the floor, working the banana peel into a pajama lapel for a boutonniere"). I wonder if, in early stages of the writing process, Pynchon envisioned -- in part, at least -- a sort of absurdist send-up of soldiers al la C-22.</DIV>
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<DIV>Sorry, just babbling while I eat my lunch and listen to The Stooges.</DIV>
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<DIV>Tim</DIV></body></html>