A sketch of Pynchonian politics

[Jane O' Sweet]

Phil Wise wrote:

 But,

> to Pynchon...
> 
> Pynchon's "They" system in Gravity's Rainbow is undoubtedly totalitarian.  Not only does the paranoid/anti-paranoid structure of control They employ influence the thoughts and behaviours of all the characters, including the Counterforce, which is why the Counterforce fails, but this structure keeps the preterite forever looking upward with awe at those who have "succeeded".  

I agree, the System is totalitarian, but there is more to
WHY the conterforce fails.
Again it's a **religious** struggle, a deep conflict in the
hearts and minds and souls  of MAN and his Gods. 

It's the SPIRIT of capitalism and the PROTESTANT ETHIC. 

So on and on. The S&M relationship in Pynchon's fiction is a
religious bond. I hate to keep saying this, but it's too
important to be ignored.