paranoia: 12 kinds in P's fiction

[Tim Strzechowski]

David Morris wrote:

> I think the religious/philosophical aspect of Pynchon' paranoid point of
> view (PPOV) is central to why this quest-mode makes for "good fiction,"
> beyond the entertainment factor.  Pynchon flirts with central questions.
> Isn't this difference what distinguishes the great from the good?

I agree, and that's part of the reason why I find it unfortunate that more
people don't enjoy Pynchon.  At its core, ultimately each of his works offers
the reader the classic "search for knowledge" motif that pervades most of
Western Literature . . . Pynchon just happens to give it (in addition to an
abundance of challenges) the "paranoiac" angle that roots his fiction so firmly
in post- WWII American Lit (and, as far as I know, paranoia/conspiracy theory is
a notion unique to the American condition . . . but that's as far as I know).

By the way, thanks to Patrick P. Lynch for a nice start to Chapter 4.  Lots to
think about there!

Off to sleep . . .

Tim