Vineland, anonymity, limbo

[Hartwin Alfred Gebhardt]

Jeff writes;

> John Limon, in _Writing after War_, connects GR, Catch-22, and
> Slaughterhouse-Five through their adolescence: maladjusted, kid-like
> characters, the voice so indulgent of the gross-out joke, and even, Limon
> claims, a sense of temporal disjunction (Billy Pilgrim unstuck in time,
> C-22's deja vu, GR's cause/effect mix-ups). He uses Erickson to discuss the
> last, suggesting narrative structure comes from/characterizes the confusing
> stage in a child's development. Ultimately his argument doesn't make much
> of adolescence qua adolescence, but it's a good start on something I
> haven't seen any other Pynchon critics handle. Anyone have any other
> thoughts on this fascinating topic?

In TRP's fiction there are always structures, persons, processes 
playing ping-pong with the characters. So unequal power relations 
exist, echoing the child/adult relationship. Using Erickson can of 
course be useful, although, on the other hand, TRP himself uses 
Pavlov to great effect - differently from Limon's use of Erickson, I 
would think.... For me, most adolescent or teenage rebellion against 
authority has usually meant a (very modernist) search for alternative 
authority, rather than a rejection of authority as such. Thus a 
nation of adolescents is easily manipulated, and moves smoothly and 
_logically_ from the flower-power sixties to the Reagan-powered
eighties. The Vineland ending, though, remains characteristically 
Pynchonian - 'real' life is lived with friends and family, red wine 
and dope, in the cracks and crannies even the most oppressive society 
leaves open. The more Brock squeezes his fist shut, the more people 
keep slipping through his fingers, inevitably so.

hg
hag at iafrica.com