The Old Folks at Home

[LARSSON at vax1.mankato.msus.edu]

"I read V. recently for the second time, and I think the scene that struck
me as the most odd one in the book is the one in which Profane visits his
parents house just before he folowd Stencil and Paola. For me it sounded
as if this was the real Tom Pynchon talking about himself (especially
when further on in the same page he talks about Spike Jones) describing a
mystic interaction with his parents home or a very "sweet" recollection
of his mother (or of images of mothers feeding the world). What is
known about Pynchon's parents? I certainly have never seen anything
written about them. I also find interesting the presence of Slothrop's
mother in GR - (same "sweet" type of recollection?)."

****************************************************************************

I recall seeing reports in PYNCHON NOTES that P. would visit his father
from time to time on Long Island.  Note that VINELAND is dedicated 
"for my mother and father."  (And, BTW, "Ruggles" is a family name)
As far as I know, the only other book by P. with an official dedication is
GR, which of course is "for Richard Farina."

Here's another Kute Korrespondence: In Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST,
Cary Grant is mistaken for a non-existent spy, kidnapped, and taken to
an estate in Glen Cove, Long Island, birthplace of TRP.  Note that there
seem to be veiled allusions to NBNW in GR (as there are similar allusions
to other post-war films): Slothrop is pursued across Europe by mysterious
agents (like many a Hitchcock hero, including Grant--ok, in NBNW, it was
across the USA); he meets a blonde who sets him up while she herself is
being used by others (like Eve Kendall/Eva Marie Saint in NBNW); he stands
with Geli Tripping "north-northwest of the Mittelwerk"; u.s.w.  Oh, yes,
Slothrop (as Ian Scuffling) affects an accent like that Cary Grant!

--Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN