Foreword "Anti-Semitism"

[Paul Mackin]

On Thu, 2003-04-24 at 07:16, Dave Monroe wrote: (quoting P)

. . . .  There is some felt reticence, as if,
> with so many other deep issues to worry about, Orwell
> would have preferred that the world not be presented
> the added inconvenience of having to think much about
> the Holocaust.  The novel may even have been his way
> of redefining a world in which the Holocaust did not
> happen.

This passage is of interest because we can't help but think the same
observation might be applied to Gravity's Rainbow. If the Holocaust had
been given any more than minimal attention in GR, could other themes of
the book have been developed with the same force? The Holocaust made WW
II more than just your average run of the mill Imperialistic or even
defensive war.  It would serve Pynchon's purpose to portray WW II as
pretty much a re-enactment of WW I. The Holocaust throws this line of
thinking into a tizzy.  The  omission in both books was the taking of a
necessary literary license.


Of course we've discussed this question before, but it's interesting to
receive commentary on it from Pynchon's pen.




P.