MDMD and the meaning of life

[Phil Wise]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Terrance" <lycidas2 at earthlink.net>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 5:57 PM
Subject: Re: MDMD and the meaning of life


>
>
> Paul Nightingale wrote:
>
>  One of the worst novels ever written in the English language
> > (I cannot bear to mention its title or author in the company of Pynchon)
was
> > said, by some at the time, to have 'inspired' the anti-slavery movement
in
> > the years preceding the American Civil War. I rather suspect this wasn't
the
> > case, but it was offered as a point of view, at the time.
>
> So, you're the little lady who started this big war. Or something like
> that.
> I wonder how many people liked that novel when they read it at a
> youngster and changed their opinion as they matured and as its
> reputation fell. Same with Cooper.
>
>
> I took a course in American novels or something like that.  We read
> Huck, UT, Red Badge, one of the Cooper novels,  some others, Moby-Dick.
> Our teacher insisted that Huck was "THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL." This was
> a serious scholar. I won't name him but he's well known to students and
> scholars of American fiction. For our final paper we had to answer this
> question:
>
> Why is Huckleberry Finn THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL?
>
> I wrote my paper on Moby-Dick.
>
> It's was mostly gibberish.

Terrence, I don't care if it is gibberish: you're the best writer on the
list.

phil
>