GRGR (4): the kenosa kid's confidence game.

[Kevin Won]

Just to further grind this inspection of the KK into the ground, let me propose yet another reading:

I'm constantly struck by the Melvillian overtones through _GR_, particularly the ineffable kenosha kid enigma's reflection of the themes of _The Confidence Man._  The multiple rewriting of the same thing, it's Doppleganger nature (" 'Bet you never did the Kenosha, ' Kid", "Bet you never did the 'Kenosha Kid.'", etc.) appear much like the confidence man who undermines the 'confidence' of many flimsy beliefs, deeply held ethics, and whole epistemologies, in short, he destabilizes confidence in "Truth."   

the Kenosha Kid ambiguity can also be seen to work in a similar fashion to this confidence game.  Much like a shiny fishing lure, KK just *begs* interpretation (at least to me it does), but, I think the discussion thus far illustrates, the evidence to support various sundry interpretations (both intra and extra textual) is anemic at best.  

The kenosha kid confidence game plays upon language, intra textual references, and extra textual references, etc. in a way that reflects this issue of the instability of "Truth," while at the same time presenting clues, leads, hints, etc (the movement of a comma in a short statement).  A kind of "ambiguous exactitude" that characterizes _GR_ as well as _Moby Dick_ (the White Whale:  the ultimate ambiguity), and _The Confidence Man_  

In some ways, KK reminds me of the "Chronologicals and Horologicals" chapter of Melville's _Pierre, or the Ambiguities_  where a complete cosmos with all the 'answers' is described in a pamphlet the main character (Pierre) just happens to stumble upon.  The chapter builds a dramatic case for a kind of "complete understanding" of the universe, building to a conclusion that Pierre finds has been ripped off the last page--he never is able to read the end.  He is given a wealth of information with no confirmation.  So are we in _GR_ with the Kenosha Kid:  lots of clues but ultimately nothing.

I suppose we can just add this rather pompous KK explication to the scrap-heap; claiming anything else would be a confidence game played on April the first itself.

Kevin
wonk at ohsu.edu