Hoppin' down the money trail...

[Mutualcode at aol.com]

Secular vision of GR? We may as well ask if the L.E.D. 
is secular or sectarian. Fang does lift his leg in "the 
street," at what might seem to the uninitiated to be an 
arbitrary spot, and, he does demonstrate a keenly 
developed appreciation for the scent of fresh blood- sort 
of Old Testament-ish before it was old- indicating the 
possibility of drives governing his behavior at the level of, 
or nearly beyond, his conscious will..

But by the end of M&D, The Dog has softened into a more 
generic version, and Mason- perhaps under the calming
influence of Dixon- or because he is older but not yet so 
severely disturbed, feels less inclined to wring proof of an 
after-life out of the slightly more than natural pooch.

I should think that the L.E.D. might be a figure- raffish at times,
at times more homey- for the "vision thing" of the narrator in
M&D- or any of Pynchon's texts- and that Mason might function, 
on some levels, as a figure for the need to understand (and thereby
come to grips with) the prevailing vision "manifesting" just beyond
his ken- i.e., to the eye of the reader.

Many things do become clearer in (or is it on?) "the street." Saul,
for example, had his vision adjusted on the road to Damascus.
[We can only hope George likewise learns to see more clearly
when heading in that direction, or, at least, that there is no oil
there; oil seeming to have a similar effect on his senses as blood
on the equanimity of the L.E.D.

At the very least, the L.E.D., like Peter Cottontail, is make believe.] 
Perhaps readers of M&D are also encouraged to gain perspective 
along the virtual street, with Mason's over-exuberance serving as 
a cautionary sign on the road to full understanding,

respectfully

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