GRGR(4): Human Dogs

[Terrance F. Flaherty]

Lars Frehse wrote:

> Terrance wrote:
>
> >
> > Well, that's an interesting connection there Lars. Dog Years! Tulla, Tulla,
> > Tulla, Tulla, that 's an Irish, no there are no Irish dogs, are there?
> > Seriously, there are soooo many things to talk about here. How about Matern?
> >
> >
>
> Hi!
> Those dog-images, which P uses repeatedly during the first part of GR, basically
> remided me of those in Dog-Years, because in my personal interpretation (and
> there are only personal interpretions, I think) both are metaphors for the same
> thing: Conditioned humans. (i.e. Slothrop, soldiers, party-members,
> death-squads, and the like).
> The first one to mention any further connection between those two novels to me
> was Mark Wright, though, so I may have to admit that there may have been some
> thought-theft involved. (Sorry, Mark).
> Matern, hmmm, I think I´d rather wait with rambling about him and similarities
> with a certain GR-character for just a few more pages.
> As far as Irish dogs are concerned: Sorry, I don´t get it. Should I?
>
> Lars

Lars,
Sorry about the joke. Tura Lura Lura is an Irish lullaby.  And you know Tula. OK
lets wait to go forward, how about going back instead to GRP (P is for Penguin).42
the first page of the chapter in which Pointsman is dog hunting---"Tonight's quarry,
whose name will be Vladimir ...He has the memory, or reflex, of escaping into
similar darkness  from an Irish setter who smells of coal smoke and will attack on
sight..."



Pynchon is great, and we all love his books. Let me say one thing and I promise
never again to
write any thing about this list situation. Each of us has our own experience with
Pynchon's books. One reason I love his books is what I like to call Thomas Mann's
Problem (he asks that we read his  books twice) they send me back to read and read
again the fiction Pynchon plays in my mind. Grass sought to exorcise the evil of the
"world gone wrong" by telling stories. Pynchon asks that we "pay attention" and I
think for both writers both of these are true--it seems to me, that these books are
so beautiful that we must pay attention and "no hell can take us in."

 Let me put some passages together and I will provide a post. My time management is
not the best. How's Monday?


Terrance