Saved?

[Greg Montalbano]

I tried to send this response to Richard Romeo twice this morning;  so far,
no dice.  Hoping the third time's the charm....
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I'm sorry, I thought the larger implications of that quote spoke for themselves
-- I guess I'll have to elaborate.
Yes, the speaker was Zoyd -- but Zoyd is more than just a "garbagehead", more
than just a lost boy.
Yes, adulthood could be defined as "accepting death";  but that's NOT the kind
of attitude THEY are pushing on the populace.  THEY are hawking death as some-
thing to be feared and hated, something that WE can't control, but THEY can
meet out if WE don't stay in line:
The church -- you will die the TRUE DEATH if you don't follow us;
The state -- you will be a victim of those commie dogs/captialist pigs/fill in
         the blank/ if you don't follow us;
The insurance business -- you will DIE & leave your family to STARVE if you
            don't pay us money (& keep paying for the rest of your life)
The police -- once you get in our files, you'll NEVER get loose.

I've always read Pynchon's THEY as THE ENEMY -- and what better definition of
the enemy can you have than someone who's trying to control your life for their
own gain through hatred and fear of death?
I think in reading VINELAND it's important to get past the "drugs & lost boys"
aspect of the story -- as in ALL of TRP's novels, these things represent a
good deal more than just themselves.