spoiler? 200 to be safe

[Paul York]

Unknown User wrote:
> the simplest and most interesting (also most likely) explanation for the
> capitalization thing was suggested in ted mooney's l.a. times review of
> the book, in which he notes that pynchon capitalizes dominant nouns.
> which reminds me of german definite articles (der, die, das: masculine,
> feminine, neuter). also interesting that as the rules are not the same
> in english, pynchon must have some leeway in deciding what the dominant
> nouns are.

Actually, I would argue that the simplest and most interesting 
explanation for the capitalization thing (at least until someone here 
throws out a simpler and more interesting one) is this:  As with other 
aspects of M&D (the language, the "bad" words, the cinematic segues) 
that have been hashed out in other threads, I think Pynchon is 
shamelessly mixing 18th and 20th Century conventions.  Like 
most everything else in this novel, the capitalization is evoking the 
18th Century while reaching forward and playing with the contemporary 
scene as well.
	Paul