MDDM Ch. 72 Dixon and the slave driver

[s~Z]

>>>Pynchon does restrain himself, refraining from writing
a scene in which he shows Dixon using the whip, that's
for sure, imo.  I think this reading strays too far
from what Pynchon has written,<<<

Not really. In the slave-driver scene the description of Striking wildly
with the whip is the visual image given as context for the italicized
'fuck'ds.' I'm not adding that visualization. It is in the text. The phrase
"You broke my Tooth!" occurs immediately after Dixon raises the Whip and
says "Turn around. I'll guess *you've* never felt this," not immediately
after the fist placement. Thus, reading the 'youve' as an utterance
evidencing a whiplash which broke a tooth is not a stretch at all. In both
cases (slavedriver & Dixon), description of action involving the whip is
followed by verbalizations using italics. Reading Dixon's usage of the Whip
and italicized 'you'ves' through the lens of the passage describing the
slavedriver's usage of the Whip and italicized 'fuck'ds' is perfectly
consistent with the text, perfectly consistent with the historical record,
and perfectly consistent with Dixon's character.

Your reading requires an interpretation of the fist placement phrase that I
really do not buy, and once you allow that Dixon hit the guy, reading the
rest of the passage as an artistic rendition of the historical whiplashing
is no stretch at all.