GR 'Streets'

[Otto]

----- Original Message -----
From: "s~Z" <keithsz at concentric.net>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 6:02 PM
Subject: Re: GR 'Streets'


> >>>The novel is against any ism, any ideology and any belief and it shows
> that
> all these meta-histories the preterite believe in and the elect are
abusing
> are just fiction, just fairy-tales who make believe that there's a happy
> ending (as classical fairytales always have). But the novel says that in
> reality there's no happy ending, just death when it's over. There will be
no
> miracle or any Deus ex machina (which are narrative devices only). The
army
> chaplains are serving to the only purpose of fooling the soldiers. Instead
> of going AWOL (which would be a natural and healthy reaction) these are
> "going to die" (693.13) which is something the text is very definite
about.
> Your Milton-example just shows that resurrection isn't a Christian
> invention.<<<
>
> I'm curious Otto. Not that it negates your point, but I'm curious.
Separate
> from GR, does the above paragraph agree with your philosophy of life on
> every detail,
>

Apart from GR it is my personal belief that I won't see my ancestors on that
black morning and that only agnostics really do understand mystic texts
appropriately because their approach is that it's only a text to be
interpreted.

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

>
> or do you disagree with some of what you see Pynchon saying in
> GR? Do you ever read something in GR and come away saying. "Oh Tom, I'd
have
> to disagree with that point."
>

No, I haven't read anything by Pynchon that I don't like or disagree with.
But I definitely need another reading of "Vineland" (which I know not very
well yet) to be absolutely sure. Remember that it's always been my opinion
that the "Slow Learner"-intro is a good text, that the Luddites-essay is
great stuff. Apart from the fact that it's not been verified absolutely yet
I even agree largely to what he says in that Playboy-"interview" and think
that it's in accordance to the other nonfictional stuff he has written.

Otto