SLSL Intro "Two Amiable Fuzzy Creatures"

[David Morris]

--- Wasted Words <morewastedwords at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> on page 19 Pynchon is talking about "Under the Rose." 
> 
> Why does he starts talking about how he named his characters?  One name comes
from Hamlet and the other from Old Teutonic and less consciously from GG's OMH.

> 
> That's interesting information, I guess, but how does this short paragraph
about names and fuzzy critters fit in with what he was talking about in the
previous paragraph or the one that follows it? 
> 
> OK, so he's talking about how he sort of haphazardly picked up literary stuff
and stuffed it into his tales and how he tried to be cute. 

That's the whole point here, and it's not a small one in oeuvreof his entire
ouevre.  His characters often have bizarre names, names that make one ask the
question "why?"  Is he just riffing on previous literature to no purpose?  Or
picking animal names to be cute?  Or does he have a grander design?  We're
constantly forced to confront such questions w/ Pynchon, which fits well
shticks whole paranoia schtick:  keep 'em guessing.
 
> Got it. But fuzzy is a bad choice to describe a porcupine and the entire
essay is loopy. 

Yeah.  When he finally deigns to open up is bag of tricks for us what he says
makes no sense.

David Morris

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