unreliable? in Vineland (getting closer to an idea)

[jbor]

on 22/6/03 11:00 AM, Tim Strzechowski at dedalus204 at attbi.com wrote:

> I can see you're trying to qualify what I've said, and I appreciate your
> clarification, but you've basically supported all that I said, with one
> exception:
> 
>> I think you'll find that the diction doesn't change all that much. The
>> phrase "rude updates" isn't really an example of "hipster vernacular"
> [...]
> 
> I know what you're saying, but I disagree.  Perhaps the phrase "rude
> updates" isn't the purest example of "hipster vernacular," but the passage
> 
> "Was it ESP, was he only reacting to something in his friend's voice?
> Somehow he knew who it would be [...] This time, though, it had been a
> while, long enough that Zoyd had begun to hope the man might've found other
> meat and be gone for good.  Dream on, Zoyd" (10)
> 
> perhaps better illustrates what MJ what describing as Pynchon's ability to
> modulate "between a kind of hipster vernacular and a more austerely poetic
> diction."
> 
> The diction does change.  In GR, of course, it's more pronounced.  In
> _Vineland_ it's not.  I think given the themes, social commentary, and
> overall mood of _Vineland_ there's a reason for that seamlessness between
> the formal and informal.  But it's definitely there.

Simply put, I don't agree that the shifting in and out of characters'
perspectives is the same thing as the "diction" which Pynchon uses. The
mingling of colloquial and formal registers occurs across the board. It's a
separate feature (though there is, obviously, considerable overlap at times,
most prominently in characters' direct speech). I agree that it is
characteristic of Pynchon's style to mingle these registers in his
narratives, but it's certainly not as extreme as "hipster vernacular" vs
"austerely poetical diction", and there are many shades of grey in between
the poles of formality and informality which Pynchon does adopt.

And the seamlessness isn't between formal and informal registers - these are
quite conspicuous - it's between detached and engaged narrative povs.

The new example you give ("Dream on, Zoyd.") illustrates my point about
Pynchon's manipulation of narrative agency. Here the detached narrator
actually purports to address Zoyd, and it's a continuation of that prolepsis
or dramatic irony from before.

And, in fact, I think it's possible to read "the man" in this passage as a
straight reference to Hector, Zoyd's "old buddy" and "longtime pursuer",
rather than as "the Man", the allegorical epithet hippies in the 60s
employed when speaking about authority in general (cf. the use of this term
in the Watts essay, _GR_), which is how you seem to be reading it. Even if
we do read it in this way, Hector, we shall soon enough see, isn't really
"the Man" at all any more (if he ever was), and so there's an additional
irony at work which undermines the "reliability" of Zoyd's reaction, a
reaction which is being filtered through the narrative voice, to the news
that Hector has resurfaced and is seeking him out.

But, by all means, make your case for themes, mood, social commentary etc.

best
 
> I'm convinced we might do justice to this thread at this point to move away
> from this minor sticking point (for, in essence, we are in agreement here)
> and consider what Terrance has to offer regarding "privilege."

I