VLVL2 work

[Tim Strzechowski]

> > jbor:

> The second is that it's Zoyd's reading
> of that letter from the Welfare Department which has been presented to us
in
> the text of the novel: "He understood it to be another deep nudge from
> forces unseen, almost surely connected with the letter that had come along
> with his latest mental-disability check, reminding him that unless he did
> something publicly crazy before a date now less than a week away, he would
> no longer qualify for benefits." From this description I do believe that
the
> disability payments are Zoyd's major source of income,

There's nothing inherent in the statement you just quoted to support your
belief that disability checks are his major source of income.

> and that he's been
> receiving them regularly for quite a number of years,

Yes, that is evident.

> and from the evidence
> in the text he's well enough off (owning his own home and car at least)
and
> scoring a little bit of extra cash with some of his sidelines.

Perhaps, but I'd have to see some direct evidence for this home and car
ownership to be evidence that he's well-off.  I happen to know a few folks
who have a home and a car (not the greatest, tho), and they're pretty hard
up.  Having a house and car isn't necessarily evidence of being "well enough
off."  Define "well enough off."

> But I do
> seriously doubt that this is what the letter from the Welfare Department
> actually says -- it's the way Zoyd interprets it, it's his realisation of
> what he has do ("something publicly crazy") in order to remain eligible
for
> the benefit -- but the letter itself would, I imagine, be written in
> standard bureaucratese telling Zoyd he needs to resubstantiate his
> entitlement to the mental-disability claim.

But why doubt it?  I agree that an official document would not state it as
such ("something publicly crazy"), but it could certainly be more specific
in its description of what he needs to do for entitlement, considering it's
been an ongoing event for so many years.

> Sure, the government agency is
> ominously envisaged as "forces unseen", and we do like Zoyd, and he is
> portrayed as a sympathetic character in many respects, but there are
> anomalies here. As well as wanting to look good on television, he dresses
> and coifs himself in a manner "he hoped would register as insane-looking
> enough for the mental-health folks" (4.22)

I'm not exactly sure of your point here.  If Zoyd is taking his acquisition
of mental disability checks seriously, it stands to reason that he would do
all of these things to convince the Feds of his condition.  He's smart.

>
> I had the same thought about the 'Zoyd as demented housewife' image,
> particularly in the context of the chapter's final analogy where he
imagines
> himself as a contestant on 'Wheel' (who were usually housewives, certainly
> back in the mid-80s at least),

Thet were??  Is there substantiation for that?  For as long as I can
remember, both Wheel and Jeopardy were paragons of mixed-gender, mixed-race,
and mixed-age competition, which set them apart from the vast majority of
game shows at that time.  Now The Price is Right.  THAT one had a lot of
housewives as contestants.

> and as a "virgin".

Perhaps, but Zoyd's being like a "virgin" has certain '80's echoes of its
own, no?  I think it's very subtle on P's part, but I find it amusing
nonetheless.

> But it's a little bit
> condescending and chauvinistic, either of him or of Pynchon, if that's the
> intent behind it, don't you think? And it comes across as more of a
> 'demented drag queen' act, particularly the way he flaunts his booty up at
> the 'Log Jam' (which, even more than the 'Cucumber Lounge', sounds like a
> send-up name of a gay bar, much in the manner of the naming of that "More
Is
> Less" dress shop. In fact, it does seem to have actually turned into a gay
> bar, as even fifteen year old Slide knows!)

Absolutely, but I don't know if I'd characterize it's portrayal as
condescending and chauvinistic.  I can recall the Miami Vice pastels and
Duran Duran eyeliner and hairspray look that, quite frankly, was the style
of the era, even if it made guys look effeminate (now in retrospect).  And
don't even get me started on Wham!  Given the time period of the novel, I
think it adds to the satire of the writing.

Respectfully,

Tim