Pynchon's optimism about WW

[Paul Mackin]

On Fri, 29 Dec 1995, RICHARD ROMEO wrote:

> With much respect, isn't a comparison between wars as to their positive 
> and negative aspects of any kind ultimately kinda silly;  Who could 
> rightly claim they viewed WW1 positively?!
> Maybe TRP is referring to not to the war in the above quote per se, but 
> to pure love (how else to describe?) as compared to its high-class bitchy 
> faggotry equilvalent(which is embodied by Clive Mossman?) which I think 
> is quoted in the same section somewheres...

Much truth in what you say, it seems to me. As usual, so much is coming
at us at once by way of narrator utterance in _GR_, it's hard to pick out
what to you want to momentarily focus on. This passage seems particularly
layered and polymodal (or whatever the word is). It's like Shakespeare with
parts of _King Lear_. Sounds absolute splendid and you can't exactly say
why. Nor know whether to laugh or cry.

As far as comparing world wars for positivities, I meant to speak 
relatively, thinking that, though both were dreadful, it is possible that 
some features of "I" could be superior to "II". At least from particular
points of view. It was also partly to make amends for saying previously
that WWI was "senseless", however true that might be. A lot of heroic 
people died senselessly in the war of the moment and not for the last
time.

I had been reading Pat Barker's _The Ghost Road_ in which much self-sacrifice
and male comraderie (platonic and otherwise) in the trenches of the earlier
conflict were prominently featured. Was Mossman reminiscing about these 
earlier less corrupt (for him) times? Before, he became so closely 
identified with "They". It's the kind of idea _GR_ might throw at us, 
only to negate it in the next paragraph.


Cheers,

	 				P.