VV(7) 2

[David Morris]

I think kai is both right and wrong here.  These words comming from the 
Pig's mouth are clearly absurd, but don't forget that Pig (earlier? later?) 
was one of the founders of the Counterforce and the last one able to see 
Slothrop (Of course I know this can be dismissed as an invalid reference to 
another book - your call).

"Sartre's thesis that we are all impersonating an identity" is very close to 
Jung's thesis that we all put on "personas" as the interface between 
ourselves and the world.  These (not "an" identity, but many) are not really 
"ourselves" but masks, idealizations and impersonations of whom we wish 
others (or ourselves) to believe we are.  In this regard Pig would be a 
character who either rejects the need for such masks and therefore just lets 
it all hang out, or he's adopted the neandrethal mask.  I'd vote for the 
former, which would make him the most well adjusted (to himself) character 
in V.  The difference between Jung and Sartre might (I don't know the 
details of Sartre's thesis) be that Sartre does not believe there is a "real 
self" to be found beneath the impersonation.

Stencil has been completely consumed by his masks which are all in service 
to the overall mask of "He Whom Hunts for V."  Whatever might be his "real 
self" has been purposely "dislocated" for his persona/mission.

As for Benny, he does seem to be the opposite of Stencil in that he has no 
direction/purpose and is thus at the mercy of the wind or the occasional 
temporary hothouse.  Is he self-aware?  He believes he is a Schlemiel, 
destined to be the humorous looser-victim.  I don't know if that could be 
called self-aware.  But he does seem closer to Pig than to Stencil in many 
regards.

David Morris

>From: lorentzen-nicklaus at t-online.de
>
>JBFRAME at aol.com schrieb:
> >  "What do you think of Sartre's thesis that we are all impersonating an 
>identity?" he asks.  Just something he overheard at the Rusty Spoon?  I 
>think not.
>
>   me i think it's, more than anything else, a smalltalk sample to give the 
>text the flavor of the time. [snip] perhaps one could say that benny has 
>not enough "identity" while stencil has too much of it. just a mad man's 
>opinion.
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