VL & the Work of mourning

[Don Corathers]

Seems ambiguous to me.

Brock uses the word "disappeared" to describe what he expects of Zoyd--for
him to make himself invisible to Frenesi--and later Zoyd talks to both Sasha
and Van Meter about Vineland as a good place to hide out. Then there's the
disability check as a device for the feds to keep tabs on Zoyd, suggesting
that they won't have other, more conventional ways, like annual 1040 forms,
for example.

Only conversation I can find about how Zoyd will make a living after the
deal is with Sasha, on p 305, and it doesn't really settle the question:

"Sounds groovy for sure, [Zoyd says] but the only jobs are fishing and
lumbering, right, and I'm a piano player."

"You might have to live by your wits, then."

"How's the hiding?"

Maybe it was just Zoyd's nature that, instead of getting a job with benefits
in, say, an auto parts store, he would choose to "put together a full day's
work, piece by piece" (p 319) in the off-the-books economy. Anyway, that's
what he did.

Paradoxically by the time we meet Zoyd in 1984 his window gig has become an
annual fixture on northern California television, and almost made "Good
Morning America" the previous year. He's hiding out as his arrangement with
Brock requires him to, but by complying with one of the terms of the deal he
has become a local celebrity and media figure.

D.C.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Terrance" <lycidas2 at earthlink.net>
Cc: "Pynchon-L" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 12:06 AM
Subject: Re: VL & the Work of mourning


>
> >
> > I think it's at least suggested if not explicit that the choice of
having a
> > conventional career has been denied to Zoyd by his deal with Brock Vond.
>
> I don't think this is the case.
>