perspective detective

[jbor]

Yes, the both/and formulations of post-structuralist criticism and 
postmodern aesthetics demonstrate (through deconstruction, parody, polemics)
the artificiality and hidden agendas of simple binary oppositions such as
these. And, of course, it all comes down to the recognition that there are
multiple perspectives on 'reality' and 'truth', and that no individual or
system can lay claim to the (or even a) 'right' perspective.

Further, it's not a matter of Pynchon as author assuming an objective or
subjective overall stance in relation to his material (objective/subjective
is another meaningless and corrupt binary simplification, of course) --
although at moments there is evidence, or *consciousness*, of both of these
in the text -- rather, his *personal* perspective is for the most part
absent altogether. Things are pretty much left up to the reader to decide;
along the way we learn stuff (about history, science, religion, culture,
psychology and whatnot) and meta-stuff (about perspective, language, the
novel as a literary system etc), all of which, perhaps, confirms or helps
change the way we envision the world and act in it.

best


----------
>From: Paul Mackin <pmackin at clark.net>
>

> Apropos of Dave's mention of McHoul and Wills' material typonomy
> formulation it seems easy enough to apply it to the discussion of recent
> days.
>
> The thing McH and W look for in GR is the presence of some material
> physical substance (either a person or thing) that somehow can be seen to
> override an original, conventional, necessarily rather abstract
> dualism or binary opposition.
>
> A basic binary opposition of GR might be stated as:
>
> Life vs Death
> Denial of death vs embracing death in all its horror and pain
> Self preservation instinct vs suicide compulsion
> Love of humanity vs hatred of what mankind is doomed to be (or has become)
>
> The new right hand opposition term which P has created must clearly be
> seen as Weissmann/Blicero. Crazy mythic saint (ask Enzian) and
> indisputable devil all in one--all in that doubly symbolic
> Whiteness.  Blicero would LIKE to "solve" his favorite poet. It's been
> kind of a regular old obsession with him. And he has at hand the latest
> state of the art technology (along with his low tech penis to guide
> him). But there of is NO solution--merely a lot of exciting dramatic
> action, not without a comic element, about making his lover--the thing he
> most loves--both dead as a doornail and at the same time the
> first man in space. It is all we might want and expect by way of a
> respectful nod to Rilke and about as close as can be gotten to a
> pleasing yet not so pleasing alternative to any remaining hangup we might
> still entertain with regard to "solutions." We can't help loving it. In
> sum,  Blicero is not a Nazi (as Rob has so correctly pointed out) but
> something quite DIFFERENT. No need of course to deny B might
> sport or have sported an SS or the  SIMILARITIES B might
> have with the Nazis or Hitler. But the similarity if NOT what's
> important. What's  important is the DIFFERENCE (or possibly if we're so
> inclined the differance).