VLVL Takeshi

[Terrance]

> 
> I also don't agree that Prairie has to be a mind reader in order for us to
> make sense of how Pynchon's narrative operates here. 

 I never said she needs to be a  mind reader. I asked a question
about how the narrative works in terms of Prairie's listening to it and
the reader's reading it. In other words, it's always useful to consider
the different ways in which Pynchon articulates and manipulates
narrative discourse within his texts.


We're told (by a
> narrator) that DL and Takeshi told Prairie these stories; we see Prairie
> interrupting DL and Takeshi on a number of occasions and these interruptions
> are constituted in the text as direct speech; and, on top of this,
> throughout the chapter the characters' first person narration segues into
> embellished third person narrative, a fairly standard realist device.

I'm not sure what you mean by "a fairly standard realist device." Would
you provide an example from a non-Pynchon text.  





 It's always useful to consider the different ways in which Pynchon
articulates
> and manipulates narrative discourse within his texts.


 

> 
> Prairie's interruption at 149.15 comes at the moment in Takeshi's narrative
> when he's describing his mixed feelings as he's about to enter the brothel
> as Brock's decoy. After Prairie's sarcastic remarks the narrator recounts
> the circumstances of Takeshi's arrival the previous night and what happened
> "[w]hen they were introduced next morning at breakfast": it's a flashback
> ("She'd finally got to meet ... "  = past perfect or pluperfect tense,
> indicating past in the past). Thus, the conversation from 149.23-31 happened
> that morning at breakfast, when they "were introduced". Then, there's a
> transitional shift back to the current time of the Takeshi's narration:
> "From then on" (i.e. from breakfast, when DL introduced Prairie to Takeshi)
> he'd been adding "color commentary to DL's version". And, in fact, this has
> been happening from 142.9.

What do you mean by Takeshi's narration? 

Are you saying that Takeshi takes over the narrative at  142.9
"Meanwhile, Takeshi Fumimota ...

If so, there is no detachment, "the standard narrative device"  (first
person narration segues into embellished third person narrative) isn't
employed. Or are you saying that the narrative is still being filtered
through DL's consciousness with thrid-person embellishment and Takeshi's
color commentary? 

"Looks like I got here just in time." From then on he was not shy about
putting in color commentary on DL's version. Until, just before the
dark metal door with the plastic key, he paused and wondered aloud,
"Maybe we should just skip over the sex part here ...." 

First, it looks like DL has been telling the story (DL's version). That
Takeshi has been putting in color commentary. It's DL's version we're
getting here, that Prairie is getting too. Since DL  could not know the
Takeshi parts he must have told her and now she is telling Prairie.
Takeshi is merely adding color commentary. Is that right?