poseurs in "pomographic magazines"

[Otto]

Actually I never thought about Swift and Pynchon in one context but reading
into the first two chapters of
PART IV. A VOYAGE TO THE COUNTRY OF THE HOUYHNHNMS
http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/bk4/chap4-1.html
this Friday night (no driving) I can't help but see the reversed binary
opposition of Houyhnhnms and Yahoos, where the beasts are two- and the
civilized are four-legged. The narrator is forced to prove his civilized
manners by rejeceting the Yahoos' food.

This goes with my general impression of Pynchon's use of literary sources,
i.e. sources he wants us to take a look at.

Otto

>
> Where's Terrance when we need him?  He seems to have a line on Swift and
> Pynchon.
>
> This article looks interesting:
> http://www.essex1.com/people/mcneill/Writ/Non-Fict/Crit/Lit/swift.htm
>
> Here's a nice sounding bibliography with a couple of links (including the
> above):
> http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/sources/part4.html
> and a glimpse at a familiar-sounding problem: "The persistent simple
> approach is that Swift shared Gulliver's views and intended the Yahoos to
> represent humanity as it really is and that the Houyhnhnms represent a
truly
> superior way of life. In this light many have rejected Swift as a
> misanthrope. [...] On the other hand, there is a growing awareness that
> Swift's portrait of the Houyhnhnms was also harsh and that he did not
share
> Gulliver's infatuation with his hosts. The possibility that Swift was
> presenting us with two untenable choices greatly changes we might
understand
> the work. "
>
> Otto:
> "Nice typo, but what is "the gentle Houyhnhnm spirit buried in us all"? I
> have an idea what the author means but I don't know the term."
>
>