M&D(380): My name and stuff

[Shirley Lim]

Wow! 'Round page 250 or so, when M&D meet Washington, what should his
slave's (servant's?) name be but Gershom? In case you haven't figured it
out by now, that's my name, and the e-mail address is someone else's.
Anyhow, what're the odds of that? I always knew old Ruggles and I had a
special bond... And what's more, we're both wisecracking multi-ethnic
jews!

Some *actually helpful* info on the name Gershom, for what it's worth:

1. Perhaps it's a tribute to Gershom Scholem, a great scholar of jewish
mysticism and the kabbalistic traditions. We all remember Pudding's
ascent...

2. It's astoundingly rare as a first name, and even then is almost always
spelled "Gershon,". It's slightly more common as a last name, but once
again almost always as "Gershon."

3. It means "Stranger in a Strange Land," so perhaps the whole thing is
more of a nod to Heinlein (sp?).

4. Gershom was the eldest son of Moses in the bible.


Other thoughts:

Chapter 34, M&D's visit to the massacre sight, is one of the most moving
things by far. A-and what about that "Does Britannia, when she sleeps,
dream?" paragraph? God, that's great writing.

Chapter 32, can anyone help me pinpoint exactly when R.C. swallows the
watch? It seems like Pynchon never actually describes the act...(kinda
like the sex in "The Small Rain"?)

	Gershom Bazerman (from the wrong address)