von Braun

[jporter]

Regarding  von Braun's words quoted by Pynchon:

 1. I doubt Pynchon would falsify the words of someone of von Braun's
stature on page one of Gravity's Rainbow, especially before the movie has
begun. von Braun basked in the awe in which he was held by the post WW2
aerospace community in the U.S.  He was seen as a trancendent genius, and
not just of rocketry and techno-scientific administration, but of survival
on one's own terms (That alone would have been enough to make him a hero in
the R&D community!). Besides, falsifying a quote from such an important
historical figure at the outset would diminsh the huge irony of von Braun's
life in the context of the novel, and, the seriousness of Pynchon's
intentions (yes, I make no apologies for attempting to discern the real
author's intentions) in
writing GR.

 2. The words are not just an example of amateur philosophising. They are a
reflection of von Braun's own transcendence. But even without dwelling on
that most obvious and interesting example of self-parody, no matter how von
Braun or Pynchon meant them, the words themselves are striking.

3. "Nature does not know extinction..." Incredible! This is almost too
precious! In five words he frames the entire neo-Darwinian debate:
Nature does not know anything. It's blind- completely without concern for
the particular twists and turns of evolution, including the "detour" of
self-conscious awareness. Of course, if nature were to know something, it
WOULD be extinction. 99.9 % of all species are gone. If there is anything
nature seems to love, it's extinction. With five words von Braun denies
nature the pleasure of its own favorite act. But Wernher actually did spout
such nonsense, and with a straight face. God only knows if he really
believed it (or anything else, for that matter). His idealization of
"Nature" and "Science" and his attestation of their truths, might just as
well be coming from the lips of Zarathustra.

 4. von Braun went from heading up the Nazis' "Retaliation Weapons" program to
eventually becoming the deputy associate administrator of NASA, in the
midst of its flush, sputnik-panicked heydey. And let me tell you, he made
the rounds. He was pictured in many aerospace R&D in-house organs, arm and
arm with the Chairman of the Board, and replete with just the type of
self-serving drivel under discussion. Mr. Missile was a regular on fifties
and early sixties television. Occassionally, by pure coincidence, he was
juxtaposed with Liberace.

 5. Eerily, given the pynchonian treatment, von Braun becomes a symbol of
transcendence and transformation. Powered by his indespensibility to The
Rocket's evolution, he got over. Contrasted with Slothrop's preterite
gropings, the wise Wernher, watching from his noble perch, becomes the
anti-Rocketman, always prepared to take advantage, always in control.

The next time you find yourself, god forbid, in the midst of the ruins of
your home, your family, your society, your culture- things you once
believed in and took for granted (like your village in Bosnia, or your
career at AT&T, e.g.)- and you hear those wings in the forest flapping away
from the smoke and ash your sitting in, think not just of Hemingway's
ponderous metaphor for orgasm- deftly pynched... Think of the likes of von
Braun, off to land at the top of another forming hierarchy that needs his
special talents.


Jody Porter