GRGR(25) - Trees

[Terrance]

David Morris wrote:
> 
> >From: Terrance
> >
> >David Morris wrote:
> > >
> > > In these chapters we find Slothrop becoming more and more a "Mr.
> >Natural," a
> > > spiritual medium attuned to the Earth's frequencies.  In this way I do
> > > believe kai has struck.  Slothrop is a throwback to William Slothrop's
> >fork
> > > in the road America rejected.  Reconciliation with the Earth, with the
> > > necessary evil required by survival.
> >
> >What necessary evils? Is TS's treatment of Bianca a
> >necessary evil?
> 
> >From trees to Bianca.... This is stretching this thread pretty far, doncha
> think?  But we can go there.
> 
> 1. About "TS's treatment of Bianca," they fucked.  Was TS doing evil?  There
> is the very present question of the relative naivete of these two
> participants:  Who is more the Child?  The only "evil" I think Slothrop
> needs to atone for is his leaving her.  If she's dead, it was probably at
> her Mother's hands, and this Slothrop might have prevented, but then his
> first departure from the Annubis was not exactly voluntary.
> 
> 2.  Back to trees:  Thou shalt not kill, EXCEPT... (insert list necessary
> evils).  This thread has more to do with the consciousness of the
> "evil-doer."  That old "Golden Rule" brings one to identify one's self
> within the face of the next tree to be slaughtered:  Preterite R Us.
> 
> David Morris

Well, we are back to evil, I didn't introduce it, it's an
old festering sore on this list. When you say that Slothrop
is some sort of throwback to William, what are you talking
about? Is Pynchon more concerned about the killing of trees
and pigs (literally) in GR or the children? What has become
of our pig-man, he used to pray, once upon a time he cared,
this is a theme we are introduced to early in GR.  R&J used
to care, Slothrop and the little girl (that Shirly Temple
gum scene), R&J passing the buried children by, exhausted by
the war, fuck the war, but you can't fuck away the war,
those Americans in the black car, dark suits and white
colors, what are they doing there? What's happened,
something transmarginal, some blurring of morality, some
moral imbecility (pavlov). Some mindless pleasure that
cannot even know, doesn't even care who is on trial for
genocide. Early in GR it is the deranged mad scientist
Pointsman who lusts after children he can control, right?
Here it is the Yank, the American Slothrop who takes the
girl made film, quite a different Shirley Temple, and fucks
her. What's happened? Something biblical, some northern
fairy tale. Who has dreamed up this ever more ingenious plot
against their children--not just their own children but
other people's children too!"? Each alternative zone speeds
away from all the others. Go ahead capitalize the T in
technology or put CHILDREN in quotes, who is the child,
Slothrop's in the U.S. army, he's not a child, deify it if
it will make you less responsible, hey, it's a movie,
abstract expressionism, the anubis is gonna bust through a
paper hoop, a movie, what on earth did they use it for? Can
we work greed into this plot? Oh I forgot the midget ran
off, why? Kute, front brain, Kute....