MDDM Ch. 72 Dixon and the slave driver (Italics)

[Terrance]

Otto wrote:
> 
> italics -- often in the plural; as, the Italics are the author's. Italic
> letters are used to distinguish words for emphasis, importance, antithesis,
> etc
> 
> But you cannot focus on the eight times italicised "you" only, Terrance. The
> whole text from 696.7 on prepares the reader for what is to come, a reversal
> of the S&M-roles, if only for short. But the italics indicate that he whips
> indeed.

Not sure we're making progress here, but I'm trying to say that we
should look in the book or in other Pynchon novels for italics that
indicate action. So I'm not simply focused on the italics on the two
pages in question. 


> 
> According to the given text Dixon only manages his (clearly expressed)
> desire to kill the driver. There's nothing said of a desire to whip the man.

I disagree, He asks the man to turn so that he can whip him face to
face. He wants to whip the man to death. He's a violent guy. He admits
that he is a violent man. We should take his word for it. 



> He just whips, "works" on the man as he himself calls it, 

He says, if the Driver doesn't turn around and face him face to face he
will have to whip him to death on the back as beasts are whipped. The
quality of mercy here, is strained, as is Dixon's voice. He's really
angry and he wants to kill the man, he will do so with less burden to
both men if the Driver turns to face him. But the Driver never turns.
And it's not clear from the italics that Dixon ever whips the man on the
back. 

and any other
> reading is an obvious misreading of the text, given the historical record
> where Pynchon took the story from: "righteous wrath overcame his Quaker
> principles" -- indeed, and Pynchon uses this historical event and his own
> imagination to make a story of it!

I can't agree with this for the obvious reasons, the dixon we have in
M&D is a fictional creation of TRP. 

> 
> I agree to you that he doesn't necessarily hit the driver every time he
> shakes the whip, even the more experienced slave-driver only is "Mostly
> encountering the air" (698.18) in his rage so it seems kind of unlikely to
> me that Dixon, being inexperienced in this kind of business, in his
> "righteous wrath" should be much more successful. But Dixon clearly wants to
> show the driver what he's doing to others, what his daily "work" is about.
> 
> Otto

I agree, he wants to show the Driver what it's like to be whipped, but I
don't think he ever does. The driver could probably whip a fly off a
donkey's ear, but he whips the air because he has perishable
goods--capital--to sell and whipping his capital will depreciate its
value on the market.