VLVL 3 Zoyd & Hector

[jbor]

on 8/8/03 10:35 PM, Otto at ottosell at yahoo.de wrote:

> Is that observation speaking against Zoyd being a naive hippie or against
> capitalism á la USA ("any deal in life, drug or nondrug." (22.5))

Hector's last observation regarding Zoyd's character refers to

    a timidity, maybe only
    a lack of imagination, about the scale of any deal in life, drug
    or nondrug. (22.5)

Hector's point is that dobbing in the occasional dope dealer for cash isn't
nearly as big a sell-out as Zoyd makes it out to be, especially in
comparison with the other deals and compromises Zoyd has made along the way.
Zoyd's priorities and sense of morality are askew; he doesn't realise or
want to accept what he has turned into.

> The point 
> that Pynchon makes is a good joke when Hector talks about "the
> matter of drugs" (23.32-33) and stupid Van Meter simply gets it wrong.

I think you've misread this exchange. Van Meter was being a smart aleck.
Zoyd was the one who didn't catch on.

> How could he tell bribe
> from honest money?

    Zoyd rolled his eyes as the bass player grabbed at the money. (24.8)

> I bet Zoyd & his family could have lived best without that interest of
> fascist cops.

Wha? Frenesi went after Brock, not vice versa. And Hector's no "fascist
cop". Not even Zoyd regards him as this, nor does he regard Hector as his
"enemy". That's made pretty clear all throughout these chapters.

What's more, Hector has brought Zoyd information about Frenesi, information
which he thought Zoyd might have wanted to know.

And, to fulfil his part of the deal, whatever the deal is, Zoyd just has to
go on as usual:
    
    " -- be yourself, as your music teacher probably used to tell you."
                                                            (30.11)

Point being, Zoyd's already living the life of a government pigeon, has been
for a long while.

And, meanwhile, Zoyd scores yet another free lunch off of the government
payroll (32.33, cf. 30.17).

best