is sloth lost? (was: "underlying causative process")

[Mark David Tristan Brenchley]

	Actually, I would argue that that's the point with Pynchon's
characters, who after all, are only characters in a book. This applies
primarily to Gravity's Rainbow where there are great characters (none of
which are especially empathetic, though this -I must admit- is more to do
with the way I approach fiction) but no "people". I see Gravity's Rainbow
as a behemoth of Pulp Fiction, with its basis primarily on ideas,
zig-zgging off in all directions with a mind-entrancing pace. If there's
anything to empathise with in Gravity's Rainbow its the book itself.


	Slothrop is deliberately one-sided, his name means something to do
with guiding ships (I'll check this out and get back to you). Basically
Slothrop exists as a focus around which the Counterforce can gather.
Slothrop's not supposed to seem real, hence his progressive vanishing from
the real world into the mandala of the Zone and eventually from the book
itself. If you want a central figure for the book (there isn't one), a
more likely bet I would guess is Enzian, probably from the French for
Flag-bearer (though possibly a play also on the idea of enzyme). It is he,
after all, who realises that there is no conspiracy after all.

Apologies for the garbledy-gook,
Mark