Thank Goodness

[tyro tortoise]

--- Cyrus <CyrusGeo at netscape.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> s~Z wrote:
> > It's hard for some to swallow that the author of
> GR is not who they think he
> > is.
> > 
> > The tone of the intro fits well with the author of
> everything but GR.
> 
> Could you expand on this last remark? It intrigues
> me because, 
> personally, I don't find any discrepancies among any
> of Pynchon's 
> writings, not even with the Playboy interview. Is it
> so hard to believe 
> a literary genius might, in other respects
> (including political views), 
> be just a normal human being, whith his own
> subjective -- and, why not 
> -- biased outlook?
> 
> Cyrus


If Pynchon is a literary genius why can't he write an
essay that communicates? While speaking of
communication, it seems that Pynchon has forgotten
that communicating clearly with others is the ultimate
goal of composition. The Introduction is poorly
written. 

For example, the paragraph at the top of page 12 
starts off talking about class and racial differences
and ends with an apology for the offensive language in
one of the stories. That's bad writing. 


It's impossible to say what Pynchon means when he
says, 

"It may yet turn out..." SL 12.1

Perhaps he means to suggest that among historians and
others (i.e., feminists, linguists) there is some sort
of reappraisal taking place in response to debates
about the changing composition and politics of the
working class in modern capitalist societies. 

These debates were quite vigorous at the time (1980s).
But I don't know what Pynchon is trying to
communicate. 


The Introduction is a scrambled mess. When Pynchon
sticks to his subject (these stories) he communicates,
but he doesn't stick 
to his subject. The Introduction is unfocused. It's
purpose is not clear. Pynchon identifies his audiance
but he neglects them. 

Generally, his essays are examples of bad writing. The
Introduction to Farina's book, in which he takes up
some of the same topics, is an exception. 

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