GRGR 11 Proverbs for Paranoids (was also Re: GRGR(11): transcendence/annihilation

[David Morris]

>From: rj
>
>I tend to see the Proverbs for Paranoids as deriving from a narrative
>source outside of Slothrop. I don't think he possesses the acuity or
>commitment to devise them for himself -- yet. I think that, like true
>proverbs, they are expressed unironically for the most part, and that
>they are actually promulgating truths which Slothrop, if he was more
>alert than he is, should be coming to understand by dint of his
>experiences thus far. They are Slothrop's lessons, in other words, but
>Tyrone's a slow learner.

Whether from inside Slothrop or wihout, they reflect his Puritan heritage, 
prone-to-parables and other lessons written.  They fit his history.  They 
may, however, be applicable beyond his context, but remember, they are 
written for "Paranoids."  Is that the condition of all thinking beings?

>
>Also, insofar as Slothrop's dilemma is identified with that of the
>reader (i.e. in trying to make sense of it all), the proverbs function a
>little like Nietzschean aphorisms. I think that they actually provide
>commentary on the narrative for the reader in lieu of their recognition
>by Slothrop, and, that they are meant to apply across the board.
>
>Thus, PfP #1 applies to Pointy and Blicero, as well as to Slothrop,
>Katje et. al., and is a lesson about relativity and Control.
>
>PfP #2 emphasises that "the Master" is undefined, and that various
>individuals serve various "Masters".
>

I don't see this.  PfP#2 emhasizes moralty (V. innocence) in the context of 
Master/Slave.  The question of the morality/culpability of the slave is very 
compex.  It is a repeated theme for Pynchon:  The abducted "loving" the 
captivity.  S&M rituals, etc.  KAI?

>Pointy's Master could well be Pavlov: Science is the abstraction or
>higher truth served. For Blicero it is Rilke, perhaps, and Love is the
>abstraction. For Slothrop and Katje the bodily Self is the Master, in
>terms of hedonism and individuation respectively, and base
>self-preservation is the issue for both.
>

Point taken.  As an equation, it must apply accross the board, but remember 
it's meant for "Paranoids," if that qualification is significant.

>I take PfP #2 to mean that when the Masters are immoral, like the heads
>of those multinational corporations such as Wimpe who serve only power
>and wealth, then the loyal creatures like Tchitcherine plying the
>company line are not innocent at all.

This is not at all how I see Tchitcherine.  He is his own man.  He is 
Slothrop in another context.  Like Slothrop, he lives on the fringe, the 
frontier.  They are both the Westwardman.

>But someone like Gottfried, whose
>Master is Blicero, is an archetypal innocent, *because* Blicero's
>dominion is constructed upon an elaborate moral schema. Even the human
>"Masters" like Blicero and Pointy fit into the hierarchy, too, for they
>are creatures serving other Masters themselves.
>
[snip]

David Morris

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