Preterition, GR, and _Moby-Dick_

[jm]

>Clever and literary fellow though I am, it's been a long damn time since 
>I read any litcrit of any school and once in a while the jargon baffles 
>me.  So if some kind person would tell me what is this "preterition" 
>shit, I'd be very grateful and less ignorant.
>

Litcrit or not, _Gravity's Rainbow_ without preterition is like _Moby-Dick_
without its hyphen.  Calvinism seems to be the shared theme in the two
books.  In GR the escape from Calvinism takes the form of the counterforce.
In _Moby-Dick_ to escape from Calvinism one goes to sea and consorts with
cannibals.  What's most amazing about _Moby-Dick_ is that the religious
right (I've noticed) regards it as a wholesome book for children.  Just
shows that they've never read it.  

"The predestinated day arrived...."       
-jm