MDDM Ch. 72 Dixon and the slave driver

[Doug Millison]

>"Dixon came upon a slave driver mercilesly beating a
>poor black woman.  Going up to him he said: 'Thou must
>not do that!' [...]  Then righteous wrath overcame his
>Quaker principles.  He was a tall and powerful man,
>and an imposing figure, so without more ado he seized
>the slave driver's whip and with it gave him the sound
>thrashing that he richly deserved."

>From H.W. Robinson, "Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779)--A
>Biographical Note," Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. 91 (1950), p.
>273 ...


Any attempt to read this passage should, imo, include discussion of the
fact that the author has chosen not to portray Dixon as refraining from
whipping the slave-driver with the whip, as in the family legend.  It would
have been easy enough for Pynchon to play this one straight -- I wonder why
he didn't.



>http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0208&msg=69517&sort=date


Doug Millison
http://dougday.blogspot.com/
http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/
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