explanation part 2

[julian nasti]

heya all,

sorry about the delay. not that anyone probably cares about my naive 
adolescent insights, but we won't get into that one, shall we now...

in my last post, which now seems aeons ago, i discussed furphy's "such is 
life", and how the plurality of voices (poly-/heteroglossia)and the presence 
of idiolects reflected the nascent sense of DEMOCRACY in the australian 
subconscious during the era in which it was written (late 19th century, 
federation occurred on January 1, 1901). it has been pointed out to me by a 
certain mr. thomas colin (mille grazie for your support, by the way, and 
introducing me to the metalanguage of the bakhtinist [sic] 
post-structuralists, which is going to piss everyone off, but anyhow...) 
that _GR_ is a democratic text in the same vein as "such is life" and "moby 
dick", the plurality of consciousnesses (yuck!) united by a single, 
omniscient, authorial consciousness.

what i was trying to explain in my very first post was that the structure of 
_GR_, in its sheer labyrinthine intricacy, is meant to reflect the almost 
mystic complexity of the Quintuple Zero. Drawing a pretty loose tangent, one 
could say that _GR_ is a TECHNOCRATIC text. To use the discourse of 
aeronautics that so permeates the novel (a quasi-Freudian intertextual 
diffusion from The Man's years at Boeing), one could say that the 
n-different characters are distinct automata or subsystems linked in an 
almost cybernetic, simulatory/emulatory network. STRUCTURE ILLUMINATES 
THEME, as in furphy. the whole damn point is that _GR_ DOES HAVE A 
STRUCTURE. i quote now from a recent newspaper article by michael berube 
professor of english at the university of illinois at urbana-champaign...

"...when Steven Weisenburger published his indispensable reader's guide to 
Pynchon, 'A Gravity's Rainbow Companion', he damn near apologised to his 
readers for having found, in the novel's chronology and geographical 
settings, a coherent pattern. Of all things - a structure. Legions of 
Pynchon critics gasped: a structure, by gum! A spatial/temporal plan!! 
Something that makes _GR_ look like 'Ulysses' for God's sake!!! Now what are 
we supposed to do?"

STRUCTURE ILLUMINATES THEME. what particular theme you say? i have mentioned 
the notion of TECHNOCRACY. wait until next instalment by which time i will 
have finished culturally analysing the period in which The Man was writing.

i have a deep fear that this post may be as ill-fated as my first. thanks 
also, by the way, to mr strzchowski (i sincerely hope this is the right 
spelling) for his wonderful support. the sort of self-esteem boost he gave 
me is just what i need to not suicidein a world which has not and it seems 
will never recognize my (admittedly obscure and difficult) talents.

jules

aged 16 years 10 months
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