re Re: NP: Twain, Part One re Re: NP: Twain, Part One

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

From: Doug Millison <millison at online-journalist.com>
 
 [Following this sort of reasoning, should Pynchon be considered has having
 exploited the Herero in GR?]

Hello Doug,

 I would have preferred if you had asked, "Do YOU think 
Pynchon exploited the Herero...?" but it's a very good 
question, none-the-less.

I would also not include any statements, rationales, letters
made by Pynchon regarding his possible intentions, in deciding
whether his portrayal of the Herero in GR is exploitative.

In a way, all fiction seems exploitative on some level, and
I think Pynchon begins to deal with that issue more and more
with each novel. That seems most evident when the particular
plot of each is dealing with "exploitation" itself, usually in a 
racially charged episode. So there is the larger meta-question, 
never far from the surface, and your more specific question 
w/r/t GR, which I think is less exploitative than V., and more 
than M&D.  Lot49 and Vineland seem less concerned with
race, and more with self-exploitation.

The sudwest passages in GR seem to be extensions of V.,
but the Schwarzkommando do not feel exploitative. 
There seems to be a correlation between the attempt
to realistically portray the awful historic exploitation of
the Herero (or others) in "great" novels- including the 
social context implied by "great novels"- and, the
exploitation of by the author of the novel.

Sigue