GRGR(6) Discussion Opener

[Paul Mackin]

Guess I try a few more of Joe's questions:

P. 83

22) Why does Pynchon begin this section by writing in a script form?  
    What purpose/function does it serve?

>>>Transcript on an ongoing war crimes trial maybe, conducted by
Pudding of course??????????????

__________________
P. 84

23) Who are "Watson and Rayner"?
A dad and mom team at work long before child abuse hysteria took hold.
Keeping it in the family, instead of farming it out as Infant Tyrone's
folks did. (This is unfair I know)
________________________
P. 85

24) Jamf was supposed to have "de-conditioned" Infant Tyrone.  How does
    one go about de-conditioning?  How is a conditioned reflex 
    "extinguished"?  What is this "silent extinction beyond the zero"?

>>>Thing that comes to mind is simply continuation of the stimulus
into the ultraparadoxical stage where the learned response would
be lost and the subject would reach out for the stimulus itself when
it is finally taken away (like the dogs with the metronome, see p. 90).
So imipolex is what Slothrop craves, not the girls. This is murky but
may be suggestive of something. Since this paragraph bears directly
on the subtitle of this secton of the book "Beyond the Zero" we're
obviously expected to scratch our heads a little.

Pavlovian fantasies aside, the modern approach to deconditioning would
be aversion therapy, wouldn't it? Where the learned response or
"natural tendency" in the patient would be unlearned or obliterated
by means of pain. Or, taking the "MASH" example of a week back,
with some previously undreamed of pleasure. (But that happens only in
the movies as far as I've ever heard.) So you see, foax, that
"prejudice" thread was relevant to the p-list afterall.

P. 86


29) "Pointsman has turned now, and...oh, God.  He is smiling [...] it 
    will haunt him [Mexico] as the most evil look he has ever had from
    a human face."  
    
    Then, a few senteces along, Pointsman is referred to as the 
    "AntiMexico".  Is Mexico Christ and Pointsman the AntiChrist?

>>>The book (GR, not the lectures) may be going into some sort of
ultraparadoxical phase of its own at this point. Pointsman about to be
shown at his worst as far as plans for Slothrop are concerned, while
at the same time is he possibly approaching rapport with his opposite,
Mexico??? The juxtoposition of "ancient assumption of brotherhood" and
"most evil look" in same paragraph definitely hits one in the eye.
Earlier in the episode Mexico "feels the foundations of [statistics]
trembling a bit . . ." and Poinstman (a few paragraphs down)  begins
to weaken on cause and effect. Which brings us to Joe's final question:


33) Does this section end with Pointsman and Mexico walking off into the
    sunset?

>>>Sounds to me like the debate over what Pointsman and Mexico
"stand for" (Christ/antichrist to the contrary)  is being forcibly
shut off. You're never gonna find out, foax.

					Paul M.