Pynchon's Badass

[Scott Badger]

Rob:
> But I can see also that Marvy's Mothers and Blicero's disciples (Enzian's
> Schwarzkommando, the 175s) and the Luddites all share a certain
> ... dogmatic
> obstinacy. the "Mothers" are soldiers, and hardly "rank-and-file" as such.
> And the 175s are pretty much "rank-and-file", or "lower" in fact.

Though I generally agree with your characterizations of Blicero, I still
think that Marvy, despite his thoroughly racist, sexist, self-gratifying
attitudes, is given a public appeal (except from the victim's pov) that
Blicero lacks and I question "public veneration" (to paraphrase) as a
necessary Badass qualification - by my reading of the characters, it would
disqualify Blicero and nominate Marvy as a potential BA.  And, don't
Frankenstein's monster and King Kong fight the System alone, pursued and
ultimately destroyed by "the people"?

> I think that Weissmann adopts the name (and persona) Blicero
> himself, and so
> it is pretty much the same character throughout the text. I've never seen
> them in the same room together!
>

You're right, Weissman does choose to be Blicero (chooses it as his SS code
name, I think), but does that necessarily mean that they can't be different
personas?  Not suggesting that they are, or aren't, just wondering and don't
have the book handy.

Scott Badger