Pynchon's Foreword

[jbor]

>> The influence of Orwell's _1984_ on Pynchon, in
>> writing _GR_ particularly, was openly acknowledged in the title he chose for
>> his short story collection in the mid '80s.

on 5/6/03 8:19 AM, Terrance wrote:
 
> If P chose his title "Slow Learner" to acknowledge the influence of
> Orwell I can't see how it makes sense. Isn't it Winston that is called a
> slow learner by O'Brien? So would P's title choice be an ironic one?

I agree it doesn't make much sense. The title seems to connect with the
central theme in the 'Intro' that the stories are pretty crappy. On the
other hand, the use of the phrase in _1984_ is quite overt, and Pynchon did
release the collection of his stories in 1984, and now he has written a
Foreword to Orwell's novel. But I really can't see any feasible analogy
between Pynchon's experience as an American writer and Winston Smith's
persecution and submission in Oceania. It seems inapt.

The other point to make is the difference between an 'Introduction' and a
'Foreword'. One would expect an 'Intro' to focus fairly exclusively on the
circumstances of the text's production and reception. There's a little bit
more leeway in a Foreword, more scope for the Foreword-writer to bring in
extraneous material, which I guess is what Pynchon has done.

best