pynchon-l-digest V2 #1678/IBM, Disney, Bush: Nazis?

[MalignD at aol.com]

In the context of thise strings, it is worth noting that Pynchon most often 
doesn't specifically name names, despite claims to the contrary.  Usually 
there are allusions to various companies that may reward reader legwork, but 
actual connections aren't spelled out in the novel nor are specific 
allegations made.

Re IG Farben, specifically--as to its history, GR's references are almost 
entirely cribbed. GR is correct exactly to the extent that its (in most 
instances) single source is correct, incorrect in the same degree.  

Nor can Pynchon lay claim to any specific or extraordinary insight or opinion 
into the Holocaust.  Happily, desepite what might be inferred from what has 
been said on this list, he offers none.

GR is fiction and, given the extent to which it succeeds as such, one can, I 
think, safely assume P's goals in writing it were primarily esthetic, not 
historical or pedagogic.

Much of what is being said on this string as to what P means or teaches are 
inferences drawn from the novel by its readers.  They have the worth of 
reader opinion, no more.  Mileage will certainly vary.

If there are lessons properly to be learned from GR, they are literary ones.  
Reading it as history is a fool's game.