The Afterlife

[Terrance]

The Great Quail wrote:
> 
> >Whoa!  I don't want to get into "opinions of the author,"  but the
> >continuity of life after death is one of the major streams that flow
> >through GR.
> 
> And all his work, really. In Vineland we have the Thanatoids
> (whatever they may be), the land of the dead, and the continued
> existence of old Snoop Brocky-Brock after he's been shuffled off the
> mortal coil. In Mason & Dixon there is, of course, Mason's beloved
> wife and other spirits hinted at in the Wind....
> 
> --Quail

What about Wicks? He's not quite Tim Finnegan, but the final bowl of ale
unconsciousness seems to stream consciously or run river run to Joyce's
good Eve-ning.  

                            Then Mickey Maloney raised his head
                             When a noggin of whiskey flew at him,
                             It missed, and fallin' on the bed
                             The liquor scattered over Tim!
                             Tim revives! See how he raises!
                             Timothy rising from the bed,
                             Says,"Whirl your whiskey around like
                             blazes Thanum o'n Dhoul! Did you think I'm
dead?"


Of course Joyce was not a believer, although he had to be one once to be
the non-believer he became. I doubt that Dickens believed in magic wands
that can cause people to combust spontaneously or that Tolkien believes
in Hobbits. I'm sure P doesn't believe that dogs can sing, mechanical
ducks can fall in love or that Benny would have ever left Fina. 
What about his belief in god? No one wants to go there. Good. Let's not. 
Otto is convinced P is an atheist. Doug is convinced he is not an
atheist. Neither has any proof. Most of us don't give a damn. 

I hear  Pynchon goes to church in NYC and his kid goes to a private
religious school. So, lots of people go to church and don't believe. I
go to McDonalds once in a blue and I don't believe in Ronald and I don't
like the food. 

I send my son to a school like the one Pynchon's son goes to even though
I don't believe in god anymore and my son doesn't either, he hasn't even
been baptized, because I believe in getting the best education one can
afford.  

Who knows? Who cares? I know one thing for sure. Pynchon knows his bible
as well as Melville and after 150 years of research and debate we are
still not sure what Melville believed about god and the after here.
Perhaps we will never know what Pynchon believes.
I'm not trying to shut down this debate, although we I am getting a bit
tired of these old worn roads dividing us here again and again. If there
is something new we can bring to this ancient feud,  I don't see why we
shouldn't spin our wheels and kick up the mud, but there is nothing to
new.