grgr (34): kazoo no fetish

[Paul Mackin]

Yes, it think I read it that way too. It's kind of like what used to be
called in American football the old double reverse play. First, the
subversively used Kazoo has (Phoebus) Apollonian light and harmony cast
upon it by virtue of the fact that it is in perfect sync with the
common light bulb. But then comes the re-reversal. The subversive element
is immediately reclaimed by disclosing that the bulb in question is no
other than Bryan and the embrace with the Kazoo turns out to be one of 
comradely solidarity against oppression. Something like that anyway.

				P. 

On Wed, 30 Aug 2000, Lorentzen / Nicklaus wrote:

> 
>  "... sly säure has had ex-peenemünde engineers, propulsion group people, 
>  working on a long term story of optimum hashpipe design, and guess what --- in 
>  terms of flow rate, heat-transfer, control of air-to-smoke ratio, the perfect 
>  shape turns out to be that of the classical  k a z o o! 
>  yeah, another odd thing about the kazoo: the knuckle-thread above the reed 
>  there is exactly the same as a thread in a light-bulb socket. ...'you fools 
>  think the kazoo is a subversive instrument? here---'" (745)  
> 
> 
>   this is, imo, meant to "de-fetish" the novel's central symbol of dissidence 
>   ... "counter-culture" is 'only' mirrowing the "totally socialized society" 
>  (adorno), which it, as a "sub-culture"  i n s i d e  society, actually can 
>   neither transcend nor ignore ... instrumental rationality reaches every little 
>   recess of the globe & marks the historical standards ... you just want to 
>   optimize your smoking &, all of sudden, you're playing  t h e i r  game ...   
>   trp knows well about it ... & instead of letting a critic accuse him of, well, 
>   "anachronistic romanticism", pynchon prefers to "disentchant" this central 
>   symbol himself, so it cannot be damaged ... a-and right, just a few pages 
>   later   - "... and even k a z o o s, in full disrepect for the prohibitions" 
>   (756) - it comes back & is, through the author's clever symbolic   
>   "self-destruction" that has taken place, now, imo, even stronger than before 
>    ... no toy but an instrument ...