Rog&Jess [was Re: Plist ethos reply]

[jester]

At 10:06 PM 06/24/1997 -0400, Monte wrote:
><david wrote>
>> I'm also interested in the mockeries of sincerity online.  At the New
>> School discussion, one or more of the panelists praised the romance of
>> Roger Mexico
>
>Yo, man, word. That's always been the counterexample I give when some
>dimwit claims TRP is bloodless, cartoon characters, hyper-intellectualized,
>etc.
>
>There's more love and longing in one Roger & Jessica scene than in most
>novels.
>
Damn straight.  I think it's illuminating that they are the only couple who
ever get close to anything involving true love and intimacy outside of the
raw physical and perverse -- though outside of the age-factor, I think there
is some genuine tenderness between Bianca and Slothrop, something which if
not justifies their behavior, validates it.  Am I grasping for straws here?
I hope not.  I've always felt that this scene would be particularly
controversial, yet suprisingly during class discussion, it's usually nearly
passed over or quickly explained away.  Hmmmm...

But Roger and Jessica are definitely and tragicially in love, and if GR is
about ANY PERSONS, it's about them.  Slothrop and the remaining cast of
characters are ancillary to that read of the novel.

In this instance, the book investigates the modern tendency of intimate love
to follow along the trend of entropy, perhaps hastened by such nastiness as
war and The System... But where does it all end? In some darkened theater
with our heads between our legs?  Alone?  At the close of the book, every
person is alone, and the only COMMUNITY is found sitting in front of the
silver screen, waiting for the final Times Square New Years Ball to fall...
Hmm...
 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 

JJ "JEster"

Just a thought...
JJ "Jester"