VLVL 4: War, politics and love

[jbor]

on 28/8/03 8:22 PM, Otto wrote:

> RC and Moonpie surely had their reasons to change their names.
> Maybe they had done things that were considered as illegal, maybe they have
> their own "Hector" still looking for them.

It's odd that they'd rename themselves after a brand of Cola and a type of
ice cream though. I think Pynchon has to be taking the piss a little bit. Or
else they were, which could be more of a possibility except for what they've
called their children -- "Morning" is the eldest and "Lotus" is the baby --
which are pure stereotypes of the sort of godawful names which hippie folk
lumbered their kids with back in the '60s.

A-and I just noticed that the narrative actually describes them as a "bush
vet and his family" (35.18), which pretty much nails it. Every other time
I've read the novel I think I must've skimmed over that "vet" as short for
veterinarian, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense but sort of fitted in
vaguely with their alternative, nature-friendly lifestyle, but I think it's
fair to say that RC's *definitely* presented by Pynchon as a Vietnam vet
who'd gone off to live in the "bush" after his discharge. Incognito.

Which I guess puts quite a different spin on why they might've actively
"erased" their "trail since the war" (35.25-7). It now seems likely to me
that RC and Moonpie were ashamed of the fact that he had served in Vietnam,
and had changed their names and tried to start life afresh when he returned
with the rest of the US troops in January 1973 after the Paris Peace Accords
were signed. So, more deceit, another sellout story.

best